From One World to the Other
by RoyalFanatic
Summary: Self-insert. An authoress drops from her world into Symphonia, taking the place of her OC, and things aren't as they seem on the outside. From one world to the other; can the story still have a happy ending? Spoilers aplenty. T for language and safety.
1. Pro: From One World to the Other

**Okay, so it's time to join the bandwagon!? Meh, I was inspired by other self inserts to try one of my own (even though I doubt mine is going to be as good as the others). A little different than your average SI; this is a combination of my ToS novelization-like fic I had up here once upon a time (**_**Through Her Eyes)**_** and the game, which is why THE was taken down.**

**Sheena: Since this and that fic are basically the same, why have them both up on one site?**

**Exactly. But in case you were actually reading **_**Through Her Eyes**_**, which is still being revamped and rewritten, you can find it on my deviantART page (my homepage should link to my DA page).**

**Colette: RoyalFanatic doesn't own us or Tales of Symphonia, nor does she own the OCs Anna and Spice once they appear. She does own this fiction and her personal ideas, Calvin, herself, and the OC that swaps lives with her! **

**Prologue away!**

To drop from your life into a game…one world into another…

Some fall in from a portal, no matter if it's from their television, their game console, or just a random portal from nowhere.

Some see a light; others hear a voice; others still float in darkness, as if dreaming.

Some die, only to find this is their second chance at life: the very concept that is reincarnation.

This latter is what happened to me.

Do you ever see this coming? Does fate, a god, your own heart or judgment, or anything else you believe in try to warn you? Do you sense it, and try to change it? Do you ignore it? Or do you even misread the signs?

I awoke to my messy room that fateful day; it was just another Tuesday morning. I checked my mail, my messages, and my fanfiction; the same old song and dance.

Heh, Aerosmith…

It was an average drive to the college campus. The typical assholes who don't know how to drive secretly located themselves on the road; you find yourself slowly getting to the point where you just want to maul something.

Then again, that WAS New Jersey. Nothing new there.

My first class I treaded on thin ice. Why am I backing myself up? Work that I should've done weeks ago not even started; I'll be lucky if I pass my classes this semester.

Fortunately, I wasn't called on. Just a face in the crowd…

It was storming as I crossed the campus to my second and final class. The rain should've alerted me.

We both could feel the downpour…

I was half lagging, half running, if that even makes sense. I was still behind paper-wise…I really didn't want to go.

Music blaring…_'Run away, run away…I'll attack….'_ 30 Seconds to Mars played in my ears.

How about 10 Seconds to Symphonia instead?

I was crossing a street. I swear I didn't see the car coming at all.

Even with four eyes, though, I was never the most attentive person. At all. I got two tickets before my twentieth birthday to prove that.

It was a swift motion, a hit, and I was sent flying. I don't know what happened to the car. Or anyone who stumbled on the accident.

_She_ is the only one who knows that now.

That was it though; no lights, no voices, no portals. Hit, fall, wake up…

The campus was gone; there were only tress as far as I could see. I could feel a dull pain near my neck, even though I was technically hit on my right side; the first sign. The car injuries seemed to have vanished; another sign that I was no longer on my old planet.

I took a breath, and winced as air escaped what could've been a hole in my neck; it fricking hurt! I raised a gloved hand to…

_Gloved?_

I wasn't in the game in the "canon" sense. Although who says alternative universes really don't exist? The basic idea will always remain the same, but there are other changes; characters the "game" never mention.

Some just drop in as themselves, unannounced. Some people drop in as characters the "game" never specify, hidden Summon Spirits for example. Some, if very few, swap places with OCs.

I observed my new looks; holy shit my glasses are gone. But…my clothes…my fanfiction has to be an alternate reality. It just has to be. Short purple hair and just as purple eyes. Dark purple tunic, golden breastplate, extremely long purple skirt with a slit on the left side, white gloves, average brown boots that would eventually be replaced with Regal's old metal-soled grieves.

Cruxis Crystal and Rune Crest embedded in my right shoulder, and when I revealed them, dark lavender spectral wings…

I was my original character…by Martel I was my freaking original character!

The trees didn't seem different than the trees on my old home. Maybe the two planets are more alike than anyone thinks. There…wait, Desian corpses? Looks like the monsters got to them. And there…a red ribbon hanging on a branch. Oh shit, when was this? Did Kvar find us? Was this the dreaded aftermath? Anna's death, Lloyd and Noishe's disa-

"L-lady Cecilia!?"

A male voice? What was this? I looked to my right, and sonofabitch it can't be but it is. He freaking exists here too. Would I meet Anna and Spice here as well? I guess I'll find out when we hit Palmacosta…fourteen years later.

For now, it is yet another OC that was in my fanfic. I couldn't believe it, but Calvin was flying towards me. He was Remiel's brother, and my only friend. Well, that's because Yuan's more like family to me, and my family…

Damn, this is way too much. I even have _her_ memories, which appear to be mine now. My head's spinning.

Extremely long blond hair and blue eyes. Remiel's clothing a lighter shade of green minus the hat, well…no, the robe on Calvin is more fitting for a Pope, I would say. His face was pale as hell; his arms shaking.

"Ah…Calvin?" Even my voice changed. Wow, I sound the way I thought _she_ would. A nice change of pace.

In one swift motion, he was besides me. Then I was caught in a bone-crunching hug. "Oh Martel…thank you so much. My lady, you weren't breathing! I-we have no idea what to think!"

Kvar's knife and a stupid car. Had it been Martel, Mana herself? Had it been my old God and his Son? Had it been the god from another religion?

Whatever the case, I am now _her_, and _she_ is now me. Her life and family were mine as my life, family, and friends were hers. Can we handle the other's mistakes? I hope she's good with her studies…

And that she doesn't mind the glasses.

"L-lucky second chances?" I asked stupidly, taking another breath and wincing as more air escaped the gaping hole in my throat.

…wait a minute. Her family is now mine. I'm quarter elf, daughter of a human and half elf that lived four thousand years ago yet still died prematurely. Anna was my aunt, Lloyd's my cousin, and Kratos is my uncle!

How very Mary-Sueish!

Calvin stuck a hand on my neck, and the wound healed itself in a green light. First Aid… "There's…" He pulled his hand away. "There's a scar. I think the knife was magicked."

"So, what happened?" Okay, let's get everything straight. "He grabbed me and threatened my life. Aunt Anna, Lloyd, Noishe…"

"I don't know where he went," Calvin replied sadly. "Lloyd and Noishe had vanished too. Desian corpses and a small lion plush were all we found…"

Calvin was part of the search too? That wasn't how it went in the fic…

Then again, even if only for a little while, I was dead. My place needed to be filled.

"We…we found you here. Not breathing…nothing," Calvin continued. "It was…such a huge shock. We-we kept searching; Lord Yggdrasill found us. Lord Kratos left with him; I came to pick you up."

"Yet I'm alive," I insisted, getting to my feet. Terragrinder, my Cruxis rapier, was attached to my side. Of course it would be Terragrinder; I've yet to claim Razerglaze or Featherglow. Fricking Cruxis rapier… "Uncle will be overjoyed about that, at least."

Fourteen years later, he will see that Lloyd's alive too.

The waiting game always sucks.

Cal and I looked to each other; well, there was no point keeping any of them waiting. I walked to the ribbon and grabbed it, tying it around my neck; all I needed were the grieves and I would be set. Yuan and Kratos would be happy to see me again, I'm sure. As for Yggdrasill, however…

The fallen hero, the world splitter, the madman, my fricking boss…

To drop in from "real life" to a "game"…

To transport from one world to another…

_This is going to be very interesting._

**Zelos: And that, my friends and hunnies, ends the prologue! Ingenious, no? 3**

**Regal: It's a very interesting idea; I don't think we've seen many OC swap self-inserts. Of course, while the authoress is taking the OC's place, there are actually going to be a few differences between them.**

**Zelos: What does that mean?**

**Regal: All will be explained in the next chapter. For now, that is all from us. We hope you'll enjoy the fanfic.**


	2. Fourteen Years in the Blink of an Eye

**Aaaaand we're back with chapter one!**

**Colette: Wow, it's really long! I hope everyone enjoys it!**

**Sheena: So, the fourteen years in sporadic intervals?**

**For the most part. Oh, I forgot to mention this too, duh: OoCness might be possible and spoilers run rampant! Then again, is there any SI that **_**doesn't**_** have spoilers?**

**Sheena: Don't answer that question folks**

**Colette: RoyalFanatic doesn't own us, Tales of Symphonia, Anna and Spice, and four other characters that are going to appear eventually, but she does own the fiction, her personal ideas, herself, Calvin, and the OC she switched lives with.**

**And let's see how Mary-Sueish I am. (/sarcasm) Away chapter one!**

Of course, as soon as we got there, Mithos was _kind_ enough to let me know that Kratos was…out. Most likely keeping tabs on the two Chosen.

So let's see…fourteen years before the game…Colette was two, and Zelos was…shit, how old was he in the game? Twenty-two? Twenty-two from fourteen…if anything, he was at least eight, maybe younger.

Damn, I actually had to _think _about that; looks like my math skills are still my own.

Wait…I know I have _her_ memories and all that jazz, but what else? Well, I probably have her magics and skills; do I have the ability to _use_ them? What of my strength; work has been helping me slowly but surely gain some arm muscle.

Well, if I still had my math skills, maybe I still have some of my other skills and talents as well. It's a good thing I'm not jumping straight into the Regeneration Journey! Fourteen years isn't four thousand, but I'll try my best.

But the way Mithos was looking at me…seriously, what crawled up his ass and died? I know we never really got along; jealousy perhaps? But really, he was acting colder towards me than I thought he would.

_What had happened that I'm not aware of?_

We were able to find Yuan, though. The cobalt was wandering around with an armful of papers. Beware the dreaded paperwork.

"Lord Yuan!" Calvin shouted, waving. I watched with interest as Yuan looked our way.

Oh the look on his face! If I wasn't the one who died and came back, then I'd totally be laughing right now! Granted, I'm not Martel, but something, instincts I suppose, tell me that I'm as important to him as Kratos is. The paperwork dropped to the floor and he ran over towards us.

"Wha-Cecilia!? I heard you were dead!" He placed his hands on my shoulder and observed me. "Kratos was completely devastated! Calvin, does he know about this? Did he see her?"

Calvin, who had gone to gather up the paperwork, shook his head. "We were told Lord Kratos was sent out when we returned. We do not know how this miracle came to be, but when I went to get her body, she was fully conscious."

"Honestly, I'm not too sure what happened either," I said, deciding to throw my two cents in. "I do remember the pain from the knife; it hurt enough to kill…" From my memories, I can hear the knife plunge itself into my throat; I could hear my barely audible gasps as blood and air leaked from my wound. Frick. "There was nothing for a while, I suppose. Then I woke up."

"I used First Aid, but I think that's the best the wound will heal," Calvin added as Yuan's eyes drifted to my neck. "Doesn't Kvar have some sort of magic in his boot knife?"

"I don't care about the Cardinals," Yuan said bitterly. "Unless I hear they're dead." He patted my shoulders and went to take his paperwork from the other angel. "I have things I must do, so I better get to them."

"Of course, Lord Yuan," Calvin bowed.

"Cecilia…" Yuan turned back to me. I had the sinking feeling I knew what he was going to ask. "I'm sorry to do this to you, especially since you've just come back from the dead, but if Yggdrasill needs me…"

"Step in for you, I know," I commented absentmindedly. I'm not overly fond of getting my ass kicked by Yggy's magic, but hey, I'm earning my debt to join the Renegades. Even though I know Lloyd's living, there are still some benefits from me joining.

Even if I'm not fully sure what they are right now.

* * *

How long has it been since I rejoined Cruxis? I think I lost track of time. Calvin told me there was a Chosen attempting to save Sylvarant; Colette's mother… Unless she succeeded or failed, I wouldn't be seeing my uncle anytime soon.

Well, I'd like to think it's been a year or two. My skills with my rapier are…almost completely horrible though. I wish I had the ability to take fencing before I came here!

Yuan laughed at me as I attempted old strikes and thrusts I'm sure he was used to me performing flawlessly not too long ago. "I thought you knew how to use that thing. What happened?"

"I _do_," I said bitterly, finally unleashing Demon Fang, Hurricane Thrust, and Freeze Prye one after another. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my acrobatics were up to shape, but the ice ball conjured by the Freeze Pyre technique missed the dummy I was aiming at. "I think it was when I died; some things have changed."

"They have," the cobalt Seraph agreed. "We got that weapon of yours filled in, and you're holding it with ease! You've gained some upper body and arm strength."

Not that I could wield an actual sword as easily as Kratos, of course, but I've found that the Terragrinder was too light for my tastes and had it filled. I'm sure Razerglaze can be refilled as well, and Yuan will probably fill Featherglow with lead before passing it onto me.

"Maybe not with _ease_," I countered, hefting the earth rapier up and glaring at it. "But I'm not having too much trouble." Fricking piece of shit that the fricking madman gave me…

…I guess I still have my profanity-happy speech too. Did _she_ curse a lot? I kinda hope she did.

With another breath, I lunged for the dummy and attacked again; it was reckless rushing and striking attacks though…I guess I understand how Lloyd feels. Sonic Thrust, Lightning Blade, Demon Spea-whoa!

Yuan laughed again as I lost control of my spinning and crashed onto the ground. "I forgot you used to do that! You haven't used that or Victory Light Spear in forever!"

I hated Demon Spear in the game; Victory Light Spear too. I'm glad I don't have to worry about using them. "Light Spear Cannon actually hits things, and I have no clue why I decided to use Demon Spear…"

The other Seraph walked towards me. "You know, it seems you need to relearn the basics before you do anything else. Here, let me show you."

Yuan wasn't skilled with a blade himself; he had his precious Swallow. But he did have some knowledge of the basics of sword-using; I wonder if he picked them up from Kratos when he was teaching Mithos. I drilled the strokes, thrusts, and blocks into my mind as the hours whittled away.

* * *

"Okay, let me see your magic."

It's been five years since Aunt Anna's death, and I'm proud to say that my skills with my weapon are better than they were before! Not that I'll ever achieve _her_ skills anytime soon, but I'm slowly but surely getting there!

We haven't heard from the Chosen, and anytime she's mentioned, Yuan frowns; I don't think he managed to kill her yet. I wonder what's taking her so long.

Unless she died anyway, leaving Mithos to order Kratos somewhere else; maybe over to Tethe'alla to check up on the young Zelos, who should be ten years old. Or something.

I didn't dare dabble with my magical talents until I was better with my rapier and sword techs. I still can't do Demon Spear to save my life, but I don't need it. Sometimes Freeze Prye's ice ball misses my targets too…but that's not really my fault. Sort of…

But at long last, Yuan decided that it was time for me to see how much of my magical prowess I still have. This…this I'm worried about.

Did I ever mention that I'm in my Cruxis uniform? I really hate this thing, you know. It's all white, well, minus the black belts and purple sash around my middle. White sleeveless dress shirt and white dress pants with a white jacket with sleeves that reach the elbows. No more gloves either. I still wear Aunt Anna's ribbon around my neck like a choker, however; most of the time I keep the scar hidden, but sometimes I can get away with exposing the mark while wearing it.

Terragrinder is resting near my right hip as I listen to Yuan's commands and focus ice mana through my hands and the hilt of the blade. My eyes are closed in concentration, but I can feel the glyphs around my feet; there's a chill hanging in the air around me. "Everglade frost…Icicle!" I brought the rapier up and swung in a downward arc; the spell hit the dummy I was aiming at! Hurrah!

"You took less time charging than that Aqua Edge," Yuan commented. "I think you still have your connection to the ice element."

_She_ was naturally gifted with ice magic and resistance, which means I'm now that naturally blessed. I wonder if Celsius blessed me when I was a child or something. Maybe my mother's family was linked to ice…

…but wait, if it hadn't changed, and I doubt it did, Rodyle eventually is born into my mother's family. So much for that theory.

"But let's test it out," he continued. "Try Fire Ball."

I returned Terragrinder near my hip and poured fire mana from my hands into the hilt of the blade. The heat from the glyphs hangs around me…and oh shit it's fucking-holy-shit-you're-really-burning-up _hot_! My hands are heating up; the hilt is _burning like hell_ and I gotta let go of this thing or the mana _now_!

"Fire Ball!" I all but tossed the rapier; the three fire balls completely missed the dummy and flew into the ceiling, wall, and floor of the training arena.

See, Welgaia also has a physical and magical fitness center; there were weight rooms and training arenas and coliseum arenas and everything. Despite what you may think, there are plenty of angels, soulless or not, that actually use these rooms. Right now Yuan and I were in one of the magical training arenas.

I finally drop Terragrinder and look at my hands; the shape of the hilt was burned into them, over scars I realized were from previous spells, when I actually had to eject the damned things from my hands.

"Owww, frick!" I shook out my hands and winced; my body temp hasn't gone down yet. Damn fire mana…

"Yep; you've got your resistance and weakness," Yuan said, looking sheepish and handing me a bright blue bottle; an Elixir. "I apologize for having you do that. Just pour a few drops on your hands and drink the rest."

I complied, sighing as the marks on my hands faded to nothing and my body temp dropped back to normal. "Thank you."

"Now, I'd like to see your magic casting without the rapier," Yuan said. "You never know when you'll be disarmed, or if you need to cast a spell without a blade in your hand."

Honestly, I had no idea how _she_ used to do it, but _I_ had a neat idea. You see, one of my professors in my old life told us how if you rub your palms together for a bit, you can build up energy. Cup your hands, as if you're holding a ball, and if you're lucky, you can feel that energy between them. I know I do; my hands and arms shake sometimes!

So that was what I was going to do. Closing my eyes, I felt for my lightning mana and began rubbing my palms together. I could feel the static electricity hanging over my body as I parted my hands and held the mana like a ball. I knew it was working; I could feel my arms shaking rapidly. Bringing my hands back towards my chest and forward in a push motion, I knew what to do next. "Lightning!"

It struck the dummy! I opened my eyes to see the thing starting to smoke. It worked! Yes!

"That was new," Yuan commented, making me turn towards him. He was smiling though. "Pulling the mana out and turning it into a ball. I just wonder if you can do that with gloves on."

"I don't see why not," I insisted, shrugging. I flexed my fingers, cracking knuckles as well, and got into stance again. I repeated my past actions, and forced the ball of mana between my hands again.

The static energy around me was much heavier than I thought it would be, however, and I was now starting to doubt if I could cast Spark Wave. I think Yuan was worried too; I felt his hand on my right shoulder as I forced my hands apart with a yelp; the spell backfired and struck us instead.

"Cecilia…" Yuan sighed. "Why did you do that?"

"I…uhh, wanted to see if I could do it?" I asked, coughing. Oooh, the wondrous smell of burnt half and quarter elves. Yum. My hair felt weird too. Apparently I had all _her_ magic weaknesses and strengths after all. "I guess lightning mana's still too sporadic for me to handle."

"It takes a lot of time and practice. But I don't think you need to worry about any of the more advance lightning spells. If worse comes to worse, you can just have Kratos kill the damned thing."

"Yeah."

We continued for another hour; alternating between my hands and Terragrinder, I unleashed Aqua Edge, Aqua Laser, Wind Blade, Air Thrust, Stone Blast, Grave, Icicle, Freeze Lancer, and Lightning with no problems.

I did try Fire Ball, but my body always heated up, not to mention with or without the rapier, my hands were still hot as hell! Out of using it ten times, I was able to hit the dummy with one fireball. One fireball out of thirty. My hands were overly scarred too.

Yuan offered another Elixir, which fixed me back to normal. "It must be your elven blood; you haven't forgotten your spells at all."

"What about my angel techs?" I asked.

"I suppose we can try them out."

Purge, Holy Song, and Sacrifice. And then I also had two of those secret skills. You know, like Falcon Crest, Indignation Judgment, and Holy Judgment? I had two. Well, I'd have to say technically one; Sacrificial Song isn't the best one to use unless it looks like we're reaaaally going to die. I don't even know why I have it. And I could really only use Subzero Hellstorm if I'm in critical condition.

Wings or no wings? Well, I don't _need _them out; Kratos doesn't all the time, at least, so I guess I'll keep them intact for now. Without a weapon, I suppose I could just keep my hands pressed together in prayer, but I actually preferred Terragrinder in my hands. Returning the blade back to its position near my right hip, I felt for the angelic mana running through my veins.

"Beams of holy light…gather around your foes and strike." The incantation effortlessly flew out of my mouth; I could feel the feathers flying upward around my body even with my eyes closed. Bringing the weapon up and swinging in that downward arc, I let the spell run free. "Purge!"

It's basically a Prism Sword version of Judgment; beams of light strike the outside corners, and then a much larger beam strikes the target itself. Satisfied with the outcome, I readied my stance again. This time I would unleash Holy Song.

"Thy servant faithful asks for your blessings. Honor us with your splendid song! Holy Song!" I let the rapier fly in front of me; you know about Colette's pink shockwave? Mine's just purple. Yuan let out a laugh from next to me.

"As always, my speed and magic seem to have been boosted." He flexed his right hand and unleashed a lightning spell; the dummy actually caught on fire. "I don't think you need to practice Sacrifice."

"Same here." Nah, I'll let loose all my mana and get restored by a life bottle or something another day.

* * *

I glanced in one of the weight rooms; the place was strangely empty. It's been at least ten years since Aunt Anna's death…

A heavy sigh escapes me; I'm amazed with how complicated my mind is. I have no problems with speaking about both of them as I properly should, or with thinking about Aunt Anna as my aunt, but Kratos…

You see what I mean? No "Uncle Kratos" or just plain old "uncle". Just…Kratos…

Maybe it's because Aunt Anna's dead, as morbid as it sounds. Or maybe it's because I never really met her. I had the memories of the past, of course, but _I_ never met her personally. Meanwhile with Kratos…it's the opposite. I haven't had the chance to see him face to face yet, but I still _met_ him before. During the "game". Mithos is doing an amazing job of keeping him away from Welgaia; the stupid madman.

Well, the room didn't have to remain empty forever; might as well occupy my free time somehow; only four more years of this.

Honestly, it's going differently than I though; other than standing in for Yuan, and occasionally being called in myself, Yggdrasill's been avoiding me. I do remember one time blacking out before him and three times waking up in my room to a worried Calvin and/or Yuan, but that was it.

It's given me more time to sharpen my skills and magic, however, and I'm taking every chance I can get to do just that. I haven't actually exercised in a long while; I might as well see how many push ups I can actually do.

So I found myself an isolated part of the room, got on my hands and knees, and began working out. Up, down, that's one. Up, down, that's two. Three…four…five, aww damn; my arms are starting to hurt now…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…

I reach twenty before my arms finally give up on me and I collapse to the floor. Overall, that's not too bad! I think my previous memory of doing push ups like these was ten; a nice improvement.

Pulling out my wings, I decided to ignore the pain in my arms and do a few more; this time in a handstand position. Using the sparkling frickers, I managed to balance myself on my hands. Focusing my eyes on the floor, I vowed to get at least five…come on Martel…let me have five.

Down…and up…that's one. Again…that's two. Again…and that's three. Again…for four. And one…damn…more…for five. Agh, my arms hate me now. Look ma; I'm floating upside down in midair!

"You've really improved." Oh shit I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Even with upside down vision, I glance towards the doorway, and sure enough, it's _Kratos_ standing there with a genuine smile on his face. Had he been there the whole time?

"Well, what else is there to do here?" I asked, flashing a grin, rolling forward, and landing semi-awkwardly on my knees. "I think I traded strength for skill during that…brief interlude there."

"Of course."

Wooow, I'm actually having a decent conversation with him. Of course I would; I'm the last of his family. Or at least, that's what everyone around here thinks.

I know Lloyd's alive…but something inside me told me to keep that fact quiet; it's too big a secret to say, things would get ruined. Besides, it's only four more years anyway.

Shaking my agonizing arms out, I stood and turned to face him. So, no fourteen years of heartless abandonment like I had in the fanfic; instead it's ten years of forced separation. I think I like how things are going now better.

Of course, in a total blink of an eye, I find myself swept in a hug. Oh. Martel. _Kratos_ was _hugging_ me. It's the end of the world, isn't it?

"You…you really are alive…" He was worried I was a ghost? When was Yuan finally able to tell him I was here? What happened to Colette's mother? What the freaking hell was he _doing_ for ten years anyway!?

"Well, either death didn't want me, or father kicked death's ass and forced him to send me back." Oh dear, could I get away with a joke?

There was a soft chuckle; I got away with it! "Sounds like something Haze would do."

I threw my arms around Kratos; hey, if I can get away with hugging him and not dying, I might as well take the chance, right? Damn…memories are surfacing; being hugged by my father when I was younger. But Haze Aurion was no longer alive; I could never get hugged by him again…

This was a close second though. "I missed you, uncle. I'm glad to see you're back."

Eventually the hug was over, and Kratos turned towards the doorway. "Yuan told me your skills with your weapon have dulled. I think it's time a master whipped you back into shape."

Was that a challenge? I was never good at backing down from challenges… "Then teach me, O Great One." There was some playful sarcasm hidden in there; I was totally going to get my ass kicked.

But hey, not everyone can get their ass kicked by Kratos via training, right? I might as well take the chance!

Eventually I found myself mock glaring at Kratos in one of the training arenas, Terragrinder unsheathed and waiting by my side. I really do wish I had Razerglaze; a battle, training or no, between the fire sword that is his Flameberge and the ice rapier that was Razerglaze would be _extremely_ epic. There was a small audience gathered too; apparently Calvin, Remiel, Yuan, and a bunch of lifeless angels wanted to watch us spar. Fantastic.

Okay, time to focus on the battle at hand. No wings, no skills of any sort; just weapons singing in the air. And oh shit oh shit he's charging towards me!

I parried his first strike and tried to counter; he blocked it. Damn. Flameberge rushed towards me again; I raised Terragrinder and blocked it. He was holding back on me; seeing how much I knew from my basics training with Yuan and my own personal skill.

I wasn't doing too badly as we traded blow after blow, but I found myself slowly starting to crumble as he kept getting harder and harder on me. I swung my weapon in a horizontal arc, and managed to hit him! Oh wow, I managed to strike Kratos before he hit me!

My personal victory was very short lived, however; the blunt side of the sword collided with my side, and I crumpled. I gotta tell you, that sword being pointed at your neck is not a good feeling. Especially if you have a stronger weakness to fire than the average person.

"You have lost your former skill," Kratos said, pulling the fire sword away and helping me back up. "But I can see the desire to regain what was lost; just make sure to keep practicing, and you'll be fine."

"Of course, uncle."

* * *

And wow…time has flown for me. It's hard to believe Kratos left to meet Colette two weeks ago. Of course, it's not like the oracle actually took place, but Yggy wanted him on Sylvarant before the oracle. Don't ask _me_ why, though; I barely understand the madman even with my past memories and seeing him face to face.

Yuan's completely disappeared too; today makes it a full month. Was he back with the Renegades? I'd get to see him soon enough though.

Was fate smiling at me? Or was it spitting at me? Here I was, outside Welgaia, destroying weak versions of the skeleton monsters and angels in order to pass the time, in my Cruxis uniform and all. This is how it was in the fanfic…I would leave this place soon enough.

Well, I'd come back for the mana fragment, and then with Colette after Zelos' betrayal, but today is the last day I ever pledge official loyalty to Cruxis. It's…a really weird feeling.

The last monster crumpled before me; a few white feathers were all that remained. Picking them up, I let them drop into the abyss; a prayer whispered in angelic.

"Lady Cecilia." Oh shit it was Calvin. "Lord Yggdrasill has summoned you."

I nodded. "Very well." Oh goody; it was time to teleport again!

I _have_ been practicing my teleportation skills, for your information. Both Yuan and Kratos have been giving me instructions. But still, to let your body become like the air itself, and warp from place to place…I actually threw up at first. I was assured that I did this in the past, when learning how to do this for the first time, but still, weak…

When aware of actually _being_ again, and the nausea wave settled down, I found myself before Mithos' chambers. With a heavy sigh, I wandered in and flew towards the throne.

"Cecilia, you're late." Frick, he was a child. Could I _please_ kick him!?

"Apologies, my lord," I knelt. "I was outside, training." Apparently not. Damn.

"Remiel has told me that this Chosen is the one," Mithos said.

"Her signature is close to Martel's?"

"I want you to go down to Sylvarant and join Kratos. And make no mistake," the leader of Cruxis glared down at me; I'm surprised the room didn't freeze over, or that I fell to the ground dead. "If either of you fail, heads will roll."

"My power is the Chosen One's," I said, rising to my feet, bowing, and flying away. I knew he was whispering to himself, but I chose to ignore him; there was too much to be done.

I worked my way to my room and changed back into my old travel gear. Once my evil white clothing and Terragrinder were safely hidden under the bed, I turned to my satchel. Inside were spare gels, gald, and…

What. The. Fuck?

My iPod was in there. How the…who the…I picked it up; it had a white protective covering around it; Kratos was on the back. Holy shit…when did this get here!?

I'll admit I've truly missed music in my past life; this place _is_ extremelysilent. And Guitar Hero, but that is beside the point. I turned it on, and not only does it look like it works on mana, but there were different play lists than before: Guitar Hero Mix, Guitar Hero II Mix, Guitar Hero: Metallica Mix, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Mix, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Mix, Guitar Hero IV: World Tour Mix, Rock Band Mix, Rock Band II Mix, and Rocking Songs Mix.

I had every single Guitar Hero and Rock Band song, even though I _don't_ know all the songs on all the games. And then there were misc. songs from home in that final play list…

I flipped to the World Tour Mix, and put on 'Living on a Prayer'; it was like I had a pair of invisible headphones on. From start to end, it sounded _exactly_ as it did in the game. I switched to the Legends of Rock Mix and played 'Black Magic Woman'; same. Exact. Thing.

Well, I'm glad to have my music back. And it's nice to have a little piece of my old home with me. If I could get my hands on one of the guitar controllers, I'd never want to return again.

Well…I do miss my friends; I hope _she's_ taking care of them. And my folks. And damn I miss bowling too…

I'm sure I'll start missing technology in general too; Sylvarant _is_ in decline. No more showers, which will be a bad thing. Other hygienic stuff's going to be hard too.

Come what may and hell to pay; I swear I'll cope. If I do get a chance to go back…well, we'll see how I stand. Even though I doubt there'll be that chance; we died, after all.

* * *

A genuine blue sky…I haven't seen it for fourteen years…the wind felt nice too; it looked like it was spring. Yeah, I could see Colette as a spring baby. Lloyd and Zelos were probably summer babies, Sheena and Regal autumn babies, Genis and Raine winter babies, and I can see Presea as a spring baby too. Huh.

"My lady, is it truly time for you to go?" Calvin was standing behind me, wasn't he?

"I apologize, but yes."

"You're…no longer working for Yggdrasill, are you?"

I turned to him and nodded. "Enough is enough, and the Hero is here; I know it. So I'll do my duty as Champion and fight at his side."

"Reclaim the Eternal Sword to unite the worlds, and use the Great Seed to link them together," Calvin said. "So, where will you be heading?"

"To Triet." _And Yuan._

"Ahhh, I have this for you then," Calvin handed me a folded note. "It's from Lord Yuan; he told me to give it to you should you decide to leave."

"Oh gee, I wonder why," I pondered sarcastically. I gave Calvin a hug. "Be careful up there; just stay neutral and don't let Yggy have his way with you."

"Of course."

We broke apart, and I turned and teleported away.

_It was time for the journey to begin, at long last…_

**Regal: And that puts an end to chapter one.**

**Zelos: Wow! That was looooong! But very informative! You think the other chapters are going to be this long too?**

**Regal: We'll find out when the time comes.**

**Zelos: That we will. So, friends and hunnies, that is all from us! We hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Renegades, Reunions, and Chosen

**And here's chapter two! A few more things are being introduced here, as well as one of the four characters Colette mentioned in the previous chapter.**

**Sheena: For the most part, two of the characters are two other authors from her old home who were given the chance to join her in the quest. They also died and swapped lives with their OCs and ended up with us. And they are the only two who are dropping into the story; RoyalFanatic is already worried that the OC count is starting to get too high, so no requests, okay?**

**Colette: Although RoyalFanatic doesn't even know that these two authors are going to come. Who sent them here and why will be explained later on in the fic! ;)**

**Yup; I'm going to be surprised as hell when the first authoress shows up. And the other two characters are Summon Spirits that are going to opposite Verius (while these OC Spirits and Verius are going to be summoned differently than the other Spirits, I'm going to defy canon and have Verius be able to make pacts). That's also for later, however.**

**Colette: RoyalFanatic doesn't own us or Tales of Symphonia, nor does she own Anna, Spice, Gamecube, and the three other characters, but she does own the fiction, her personal ideas, herself, Calvin, and the OC she swapped lives with.**

**Sheena: Away second chapter!**

The first thing I do when aware of _existing_ again is cough up blood. Well, I could've thrown up, but I realized I haven't eaten anything in…wow, how long has it been? I'm sure I ate _something_ while up in Welgaia, but I don't remember what it was and when…huh.

I knew I didn't _have_ to eat, drink, or sleep, but I don't see why I can't on occasions. Especially once I join Colette's group; the last thing I need is anyone worrying about me starving to death or being a crazy insomniac.

No, I'm going to offer my full support to them; the last thing I need is to worry them like that.

So, where did I manage to teleport myself now? It looks like I'm on the outskirts of the desert itself…damn it means I got a lot of walking to do, doesn't it?

It looks like it is early morning, however; maybe sixish or something? We must be closer to summer than winter. Damn; I like the cold, and not just because of my connection with ice. Even when I was back at my old home, I loved the chill and beauty of autumn out of all the seasons; I'd rather be too cold than too hot.

I blame _her_ a little; oh well, at least I had _something_ to prepare me for my new life here.

The iPod's on shuffle; I somehow was able to get it on my belt without it threatening to fall off. Too bad skirts don't have pockets. I miss pockets…

Okay, okay, enough mind wandering; I have a job to do. Time to huff to the Renegades.

_What if I wanted to break? Laugh it all off in your…face. What would you do? What if I fell to the floor...couldn't take this anymore? What would you do? Do? Do? Come. Break me down! Bury me, bury me! I am finished with yoooooooooooooooou!_ More 30 Seconds to Mars in my ears: this one being The Kill. I need Kratos to hear this song one day; I think it fits him well concerning Mithos.

A half hour probably goes by, I feel meaningless without a watch, and the iPod clock isn't working on me yet, and it's nothing but sands and sandy wind, and heat and why the frick did I not come with water?

Well, it's not like I _need_ it, so to say, but Yuan's totally going to comment on my stupidity.

Hot water, steam, even heat in general…I may be a little more delicate than the average person, but even with my natural ice affinity, none of those three actually harm me. It's just fire and fire spells themselves. And this is said despite the fact that I could stroll around Flanoir au-natural and not freeze to death.

Don't ask me; I have no idea how this works.

"Would you be Lady Cecilia?" A male voice? I look up to see a…De…sian-no, it's not a Desian. He really _does_ look like one though; I think the helmet is what's actually different. It's my Renegade guide! Joy!

"I would be," I replied, taking out the note. "_'Come to Triet; your debt will be repaid in full. Give this to the guide and burn it'_; does this handwriting look familiar?"

The guide nodded and destroyed the note. "This way please."

Wow, I'm about to see the Triet Base with my own eyes. Okay, calm down; it's just the Renegades; it's not like they're as good as Lloyd is.

…this is pretty cool though.

* * *

"Hold on a second…" My guide stopped and frowned into the distance. My angelic eyes had already picked up the silver-white speck that he must've just spotted. "There's something out there. A monster?"

I walked forward and…oh. Martel. I could see _why_ the guide would think she's a monster, but…by the goddess! How many _more _things/people that have something to do with me are going to appear from my old home!?

Simply put, there was someone unconscious lying on the sandy ground; a female humanoid silver-white tigress with medium length blond hair and, once she finally opens them, dark blue eyes. She also had a royal blue cloak over tunic and pants the same color, which was held together with two golden clasps, and brown traveling boots. I got closer and saw a silver ring on her right ring finger. A sword and satchel were lying not too far away from her.

But there was a question now, what this her, or was this _her_? My _she_ and I died and swapped bodies…did these two do likewise? I found a flask in the tigress' hands; it was empty. "Looks like the heat got to her…you have a water flask?"

"Don't you?" My guide asked me.

"Uhhh…" Yeah, I'm stupid sometimes. I grabbed an apple gel and drew the sweet apple juice from it instead. Even though we didn't run into any bandits or monsters, and I was perfectly fine.

The Renegade chucked. "Sure; we all do that sometimes." He fished out his own flask and tossed it to me. "Just _try_ to leave me some water, okay?"

"It's just for her," I insisted, opening it and tipping water into the tigress' mouth. I also dumped a little water onto my hands and splashed her face. "Hey Gamecube! Up and at 'em!"

"Wh-wha…?" Oh thank goodness; she woke! Dark blue eyes scanned the desert surroundings; hah, told ya! Oh, and then she finally focused her attention on me. "C-Cece!? Then…this is Symphonia!?"

"Well, Symphonia is actually Sylvarant and Tethe'alla at this point," I said. "But this is Sylvarant, yes." I stood up and helped Gamecube to her feet. "Miss Gamecube, I see you recognize me?" I asked in a whisper; my guide doesn't need to hear this. "How the heck did you get here?"

"Well…" Gamecube shuffled her feet. "I do remember being on my laptop at home…and then the fire!" She jumped. "The house was set on fire! I…I didn't think it could even happen! I tried to get out, and I _think_ I grabbed my memory stick…"

"So you and _the_ Gamecube were caught by death as well," I muttered, reaching for the satchel; sure enough, a small black 2GB memory stick was in there, among a bunch of gald, apple gels, and life bottles. Hey, why did her satchel get life bottles and mine didn't!?

"Say wha…?"

I almost missed her confusion; there was something else hidden underneath the gels and gald; a purple vial. If this was what I thought it was… "What happened next?"

"I had a dream, Cece; the spirits told me you were here! Someone with a strange voice also told me that he could find a way for me to reach you, and asked if I was willing to take the chance. H-honestly, I wasn't sure at first…but something told me that if I took this, I'd finally be able to meet you, so I did it."

I'm not surprised about that last comment; she was down in Georgia while I lived in New Jersey. Oh fuck…I finally was able to meet her! And she was finally able to meet me! This is incredible!

…why do I have the feeling that the strange voice was Origin? If it was, then I can understand why the vial is here. "And then?"

"Oh, well, I woke up in the Netherrealm," Gamecube continued. Ha, the Netherrealm. That's right; the tigress in front of me is currently in Mortal Kombat fanmode. "And-and I saw Taven! I-I told him I needed to get here, and here I am!"

"But you were unsure how much water you needed to cross the desert?" I asked.

Gamecube shook her head and gathered her sword. "I don't know how big this desert is!"

I looked to locate my guide…hey; he actually backed off a little! Awww, such a kind Renegade! "At any rate, the voice was right. Before I came here, I was the one behind the name that is RoyalFanatic."

Gamecube stared at me. Hard. Then the sword, what was it called? Lunavalora, I believe. Anyway, the sword drops back onto the ground, there is a loud squeal that I'm sure _Kratos_ was able to hear from wherever he is, and then I'm caught not in a hug, but in a _glomp_.

"O-oh my god! RF! Cece!" I'm not sure what's going to happen first: me losing my hearing or her letting go of me. "We talked on the phone for so long…and now here we are! We finally get to meet!"

"Not the way I originally planned, but whatever works." You know, I really am happy. But him…this means her "game" knowledge is mediocre at best. "You read the fic; you should know what's going on now."

"You're…going to join the Renegades?" She asked.

"Right, and since we stumbled upon you, and it's for the best that you stick with me, I'll ask Yuan if you could work with me," I replied. "You can be a Renegade too!"

"Excellent!"

"Just make sure to keep quiet about what I told you," I said. "We're going to have to follow the "game plot" as close as we can."

Gamecube nodded her head. "Yes, of course."

I waved the Renegade back over. "Listen, she's a friend from far away, and it's her first time here; I'm worried about her being on her own. You think your leader will be able to make her a Renegade too? She can just follow under my command."

"What of Cruxis?" My guide asked.

"I'll just tell Yggdrasill she's a servant or something," I replied, which earned a shocked gasp from the tigress. "Sorry, Gamecube! But that's the only way I can give you the protection you need. Calvin and uncle will be told otherwise; promise."

Gamecube grabbed her sword again, and nodded. I took the vial and packed it away in my own satchel, tossed the tigress her satchel, and looked back to our guide. "Well? Shall we head to the base?"

* * *

Yuan raised his eyebrow, and I can see why: I came running to Triet _without_ a water flask, at all, and Gamecube's a humanoid tigress, which I'm positive is something he has never even _seen_ in his four thousand years of living. Of course, we both pretended to look shocked that it is the cobalt Seraph who walked out of the doors.

I ran forward first. "Are you sure you're sane, Yuan?"

"I was sure you'd ask that," Yuan admitted. "Well, let's talk somewhere more private. Your…friend over there…" He motioned towards Gamecube, who let out a squeak and hurriedly waved.

"She's not from here, but we've kept contact for a few years," I said. "I told her a bit about Cruxis and what's going on, and she decided to come over and help out. Do you think you she could join too? Have her work with me or something?"

"Technically, she'll be under you," the Seraph said. "But yes, I see what you mean. And she is…?"

"Gamecube," I said. "Hey Gamecube? I want you to meet a fellow Seraph turned traitor and a friend of mine: Yuan Kafei. Yuan, meet my friend from another planet: Gamecube Silvermoon."

"Planet?" Gamecube asked.

Oh shit…that's right. "Planet, realm…same thing. We call them planets," I added to Yuan. "While she calls them realms."

"I see," Yuan said. "Alright then; as long as she doesn't turn on us. Come with me."

It's larger than the "game" indicated, but other than that, there isn't any difference between the base I've seen and this one. This makes things easier; especially when we're going to travel to Tethe'alla for the first time. The halls were empty, but I was able to pick up plenty of sounds; men talking, mock brawling, or else screaming to each other about finding some "kid in red".

_Kid in red…_

Oh frick… _Lloyd…_

We made it to the office with little problem. I leaned towards the door leading to the beds while Gamecube and Yuan sat in the chairs near his desk. Hey, I have to set our getaway now; can't have Lloyd thinking Gamecube and I are "Desians".

"So Cecilia, I see you're impressed."

"Very." I waved a hand. "No wonder you wanted me to stand in for you all the time. But still…who's this kid in red? A stray you want to make a Renegade?"

Gamecube looked confused, but Yuan spoke before she could say anything. "It's nothing you need to worry about at this point. Botta's taking care of things right now."

"Your second-in-command, General Yuan?" I can't help but smirk.

The Seraph rolled his eyes at me. "I know you still have the whole concept of Champions and armies rattling in that little head of yours, but this isn't the Ancient War."

"The Champion bloodlines may have become the two Chosen families, but by all rights, I'm still Sylvarant's Champion. I think the two worlds still need us here." Zelos is the Chosen of Tethe'alla, and he is the land's Champion too. Even if I'll never like him. Perverted freak.

I still don't want him to die, however.

"If you wish to think that way, then yes, he is my second," Yuan said, shaking his head. "And so you'll be my third-in-command, the Renegade Champion. You'll be a rank under Botta, but you'll have his freedoms."

"Renegade Champion, huh?"

"You won't have to worry about anyone, other than your friend Gamecube here of course, to report to you. Weren't the Champions the 'generals with no army' anyway?"

"Yes, they were." I nodded. "Now we're the heralds of the Hero." I laughed. "At least, that's what I think. So, you don't mind that I've held onto a title for so long?"

"Better than the death grip Yggdrasill has on Martel, right?" Gamecube asked. Well well, someone remembers reading the fanfic.

Yuan nodded. "It will be…painful, yes, but it is time Martel got the peaceful sleep she deserves. The peace she's deserved for four thousand years."

"_I've been watching all this time. Unable to move…unable to do anything…I've watched all those foolish things you've done."_ Martel's words to Mithos from the "game" echo in my head; I wonder if she'll say this to him when we get that far. It's a long while ahead, though, no sense worrying about it now. "Never forget her, her love, and her dreams, but remember that not everything lasts forever."

Yuan nodded. "Whenever I'm on Derris Kharlan, Botta's in charge down here. Since you're third-in-command, you won't have to worry about the men or the bases."

"Just me," Gamecube said.

"Just her," the Seraph agreed. "As long as you two can follow orders and work with others, you should be fine. Cecilia, I know of you and your morals; I won't ask for reports unless they're _absolutely _needed. All I want from you, and Gamecube here, completely is your silence."

You'll want a report after the Tower of Salvation, of course. You'll need one at least two or three more times later on too. But I don't voice this; I just nod. "And you have it. Speaking of something absolutely needed, I have information: this Chosen, Colette, is the one. Mithos ordered me to join Kratos and watch over her, but I'm not pledging loyalty to him anymore. When we _do_ reach the tower, I'm stealing her away."

"No meaningless deaths," Yuan said bluntly.

"Colette doesn't deserve to die!" Gamecube blurted out.

"We couldn't fake a death and hide her in Tethe'alla?" I asked. "At least until we can get the Eternal Sword out of Mithos' hands?"

Yuan made to reply, but the door to the hallway hissed open and the "kid in red" entered. He kept his back to us; I don't think he even noticed that we were in here! Seriously Lloyd, are you that dense?

"Phew, I think I lost them…"

Gamecube jumped from her chair and neared me as Yuan rose from his seat and walked over towards Lloyd. "And just who the hell are you?"

He turned around and oh holy frick what the hell I'm actually _staring _at Lloyd Irving. The gentle idealist, the future Eternal Swordsman, and my cousin…

Okay, no hyperventilating…rapid blinking works though.

"Give me your name, and I shall give you mine," Lloyd insisted.

Yuan laughed. "You certainly got guts, kid. But I don't see the need to introduce myself to a miserable little creature like you."

"What a coincidence," Lloyd countered. "Because I don't see the need to introduce myself to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is."

"Why you-!" You know how this scene goes: Yuan had a ball of lightning going; it gets charged and scarier, well, as scary as a small ball of lightning can get, anyway. Lloyd brought his hands to his face in defense, and…bingo! Exsphere! The Seraph dropped his attack, actually looking stunned. "An exsphere! You're…Lloyd!?"

"And if I am?" Lloyd asked, bringing hands back to his sides. Gamecube is jumping next to me; I think she remembers this from our old phone conversations.

Yuan walked forward; I'm surprised Lloyd didn't flinch or jump back or anything. "Hmmm…yes. I see the resemblance."

"Anna and Kratos?" Gamecube mouthed to me. I nodded; Lloyd still didn't realize the two of us were here. I'm sure anyone capable of putting two and two together could see how similar Lloyd was to his parents.

It…it probably wasn't going to be a good thing for the swordsman, though. Especially considering who his father actually _is_.

Lloyd opened his mouth, and three Renegades charged into the room: Botta and two lackeys. "Sir. We received reports that the Chosen's group has infiltrated the facility."

"You…" Lloyd looked _pissed_. "You're the Desian I ran into at the temple!"

"So, you're Lloyd?" Botta asked, eyeing the kid with interest. "Now this is amusing."

"Botta, I'm leaving," Yuan cut in, past us, grabbing Lunavalora, and stopped near the door. "My plans will be ruined if he sees me."

Yeah, Kratos seeing you here wouldn't work well, would it?

"What of the Chosen?" Botta asked.

"I'll leave that to you." Was Yuan's reply.

The other Renegade nodded. "Understood."

Yuan turned back towards my cousin. "Lloyd. The next time we meet, you're mine. Just you wait." He left the room.

Oh shit…escape route needed _now_.

"Hey! He took my blade!" Gamecube jumped. "Give it back!" She ran after Yuan.

"We're not finished with you, Desian!" I shouted, following the tigress. I was just barely able to glimpse the shocked look on Lloyd's face; hopefully he was shocked that the Desians were horrible enough to capture two innocent female travelers.

* * *

Two beds, more plants, and those strange transporters in the corner; I wonder if they link to the Flanoir base. Yuan was standing on one of them, and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow as the door slid shut. "Not finished with me?"

"Look, you're going to order me to join them," I replied. "We'd have a better chance of doing that without them thinking we're Desians."

"And you took my sword!" Gamecube shouted.

"Oh yeah, we're not happy that you jumped us and took our supplies," I added. "So we rushed in to get everything back. Too bad you still escaped with my weapon anyway."

"Either we're some pretty kind Desians, or you two are just lucky," Yuan said. He then paused. "…wait, you came without a weapon?"

"I gave up Terragrinder, okay?" Fricking earth weapon. "I have money; I'm going to buy another one."

"Don't bother." Yuan fished out a rapier and tossed it to me. He tossed Lunavalora back to Gamecube too. "The sheath for it is on one of the two beds, and a sheath that should fit your friend's blade is on the other. Welcome to the Renegades. Just make sure the brat doesn't have his way, or else find a way to get to Origin and the Eternal Sword."

"I think you have plans for that latter though," I said. Holding Lloyd like a string over Kratos' head…Wait. He's going to hold both Lloyd _and_ me! Crap!

"Was that Lloyd?" Gamecube asked. "Lloyd is Kratos' son, right? Has he been living since that day with Kvar?"

"Looks like it," Yuan replied. He and I raised our heads; we could pick up the sounds of battle. Oh shit, Lloyd and the guys are fighting Botta already…now, how will be joining, I wonder. "Apparently Kratos has the idea too."

"He realizes his son lives on…" A message would've been nice, but I guess this works too.

"Good luck," Yuan ignored my comment. "If anything unexpected happens, keep me informed." With a flash, he was gone.

The rapier…wow, Featherglow had actually changed! The hilt was still that aged bronze, but it seemed the blade was actually silver! It felt a tad heavier than Terragrinder, which has a blade made of diamond, but…wow. There was a greenish hue glowing off it too; a wind rapier from long ago. I could feel the magic boost it offered me too.

There was a royal blue sheath on one bed, and a bronze on the other. Securing our new sheaths to our belts, and making sure satchels were still in place, we turned to each other and grinned.

Now all we had to do was wait to join Lloyd.

* * *

Wooow, did any time pass at all? Or were we in some sort of strange limbo that involved time stopping, spandex wearing femboys flying around raining down rabid hamsters on crying humans, and babies dying?

Well…you know what, completely disregard what I just said. It seemed to be getting colder instead of hotter, the sun appeared to be starting to set, and _no_ brain, we are _not_ on Derris Kharlan.

"What now, Cece?" Gamecube asked from beside me.

We meet up with Lloyd and co. and officially join. But _how_ do we actually go about doing that? "Let's make our way back to Triet. That's where they're going; we'll figure out what to do there."

Grabbing the tigress, I unveil my spectral wings and push us into the sky. She yelps as we cruise though the skies.

I wonder if Lloyd would mention us as they journeyed, as I had in the fanfic. Although I have no clue how he'll be able to explain off a humanoid.

Wait…speaking of explaining off…what am _I_ going to tell Kratos about how I met her? Frick…I can't say that I had a previous life on a different planet in a completely different _galaxy_…_that_ wouldn't go too well…

Hold on a second…during that time Kratos and Aunt Anna were on the run…I was the decoy; I didn't spend _all_ of my time with them…that's how I met her! I found magitechnology in Tethe'alla that linked to her planet, and we chatted once a week, every week. Well, unless they were the ones in Tethe'alla.

He might not be pleased to hear about this friend I've never seemed to mention, but at least I can get away with this. Man, all of this is more complicated than I thought.

All the lies and deceits…I can't really blame others like me and Gamecube who fall into their own "Tales of Symphonia universes".

"I had Noishe track down Colette and the others." That was Genis' voice; we're nearby. Okay, time to step down onto the ground and trail the team. "Then we tracked you down at the base."

"Really? Good job Noishe!" Lloyd's voice echoed in the air; he sounded quite pleased. Noishe also let out a few barks…maybe in embarrassment? I swear, he _does_ sound like a dog. No wonder Lloyd called him one…

"Noishe was more useful than you," Kratos' voice interjected; okay, I totally couldn't help snickering. But wait…if I could hear them, then it's most likely he could hear me! Okay…so…now what?

"Humph…sorry for not 'being useful' then," Lloyd rebuttled, sounding grumpy. There was a drawn out sigh. "Well, at least I fought good, right?"

"You were amazing Lloyd!" That was Colette. Always the one complimenting Lloyd…

Oh wait a minute…can I play matchmaker? I'll definitely try to get Lloyd and Sheena together then! I was never too big a fan of Colette and Lloyd together, anyway…

"But still, I wonder where those girls went," Lloyd muttered; I almost couldn't hear him. Well…this was decision time. Somewhat.

"Girls?" Raine asked. Huh, she's speaking out earlier than I thought she would. "What do you mean?"

"There were two girls there," Lloyd said. "Uhh…before you guys showed and everything. I think the Desians jumped them or something."

"Oh no…I hope they're okay!" That was Colette.

"Two girls…" Kratos sounded suspicious. Oh crap…does he already suspect me? "Do you remember what they looked like?"

"Well, one of them had a lot of purple on, and had purple hair," Lloyd replied. Wow, real descriptive. Thanks Lloydie. "And the other was a tiger! But…she was standing like a human! She spoke like a human too!"

"A tiger acting like a human?" Genis sounded dubious.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "She is what's known as a humanoid, uncle." Gamecube jumped; I wonder if she was expecting me to use mental telepathy or something. While the idea does sound cool, I have no clue how to do it. "Saying they're a combination of humans and animals is probably the crudest way to put it. They're common on other lands; some planets have more humanoids than humans."

"She sounds like a humanoid," Kratos said. Oh goodie; he _did_ hear me!

"Humanoid…" Raine muttered. "I've come across that term in a book before. Basically they are like us, but have the appearance of animals. This female, for example, is a tigress humanoid."

"So, they're basically part human and part animal?" Lloyd asked. I winced, wondering how much of this conversation Gamecube was actually hearing; I knew she had some improved hearing and sight, although not as strong as mine or Kratos'.

There was a slap. "Professor! What'd I do!?" I think Raine hit Lloyd. Too bad I wasn't able to see it.

There was also a sigh, but I don't know if Kratos sighed because of Lloyd or because he could hear my giggle fit. "Lloyd, if you were a humanoid and someone said that, how would you feel?"

"Uhhhh…" Realization was obviously sinking in. My giggling fit increased. Gamecube was giggling too; oh dear.

"It's extremely rude," Raine added. "Even if it is the simple truth." She sighed.

"I'm not sure about the humanoid, but I do believe I know the other girl," Kratos said. "That is, if your description of her is accurate."

"Who is she?" Raine asked.

"She is my niece." Was Kratos' reply, and all of a sudden I'm turning a bright red. It's not helping that Gamecube's now giggling at _me_. "Her parents died too young, too early…I promised them I would look after her. I _told_ her to stay home, but obviously she didn't. I have reason to believe she escaped the Desians, however."

"I bet you she got caught looking for you in the first place," Genis commented. Oooh, now I _can_ use that as an excuse! Thanks Genis! There was a slap. "Raine!"

"Apologize!" The healer said sharply.

"It's…alright," Kratos said. "I should've realized she'd be as stubborn as her father."

"Or that Mithos told me to join you…" I added softly. "But we can use that."

* * *

Okay, so the group went into the inn already. The two of us, meanwhile, were sitting near the oasis. It's dark, yes, but there are still a few more things to cover.

"Gamecube, what skills do you have?" I asked.

The tigress looked up at me. "Ummm, my sword. And Spirit Force. Oh! Will I still be able to use Spirit Force!?"

"In your sword, probably. So I'm thinking a Fire Emblem mindset?" Gamecube nodded. "Then let's get you situated for the types of battles here."

"Can I use magic?"

I pulled out the purple vial. "I found this in your satchel; I think whoever was the voice gave it to you. It's liquid Aionis."

"Aionis?"

It's the reason why uncle and Zelos can use magic," I replied. "Even though they're human. I'm guessing you're still under the human category here, so you'll need to drink this. Raine can teach you healing and light magic, and I'll teach you how to use a few of my sword techs."

"You're the best Cece!" Gamecube hugged me before taking the vial.

"Cece?" Ooooooh frick Kratos isn't standing behind me, is he? I turned and...oh frick Kratos is standing behind me. With a bemused look on his face.

"It's her nickname for me," I stood up and brushed myself as Gamecube coughed on the Aionis she just took in.

"So, a visitor from another planet?" Kratos asked, eyeing Gamecube, who jumped up to her feet.

"I found a communicator on Tethe'alla that linked to her planet," I said. "While you and Aunt Anna were on the run; we've been friends for a long while. Uncle, meet Gamecube Silvermoon. Gamecube, my uncle Kratos Aurion."

"It's…it's nice to meet you sir…" the poor tigress was squeaking, but the two managed to shake hands with no difficulty.

"And you as well." He turned towards me. "So, able to escape the Desians unscratched?"

"Ask no questions, get no lies." What? I wasn't going to tell him we joined the Renegades. To hell with that. "And I _could_ use what Genis said against you."

"Fair enough."

"Will we be joining you guys?" Gamecube asked. "I mean…we did find you, and we're here and everything."

"Indeed." Kratos looked at me one last time. I wonder if he had ever noticed the scar Kvar gave me; he never mentioned it. "As long as the Chosen does not object, I see no problems."

"Good." I nodded. From next to me, Gamecube nodded as well. "Lead the way back to the inn? I think we need _some_ rest."

_Tomorrow would come soon enough._

**Zelos: And that's a wrap! So, what does she mean by planets and galaxies, eh? Well, RoyalFanatic created this whole idea of a Video Galaxy, where all the planets of the video games co-exist. Our worlds, the Final Fantasy planets…you get the idea. You guys have your Milky Way Galaxy; there's no change there. Basically RF and her OC jumped from their original galaxies to the others'.**

**Regal: Do not expect many musical interludes to appear either; they'll actually jump in during chapters with a lot of significance. This chapter was the introduction of Gamecube, so it's to be expected. The Champions that are mentioned are RoyalFanatic's original idea. During the war, there were two noble families that fought for the kings: the Champions. The Aurions were the Champions of Sylvarant, and the last Aurion married into the Brunel family, which is how Colette's family becomes the Chosen bloodline for Sylvarant. The Wilders were the Champions of the Tethe'alla, and Zelos' family is the Chosen bloodline for Tethe'alla. RoyalFanatic and Zelos are the techincal Champions for the two worlds, and Colette and Zelos are the Chosen.**

**Zelos: The authors will also have those vials of Aionis because they're humans and both will eventually be using magic at some point in time. Who gave it to them is the person who brought them here, and that will be fully explained at least before the betrayal at the Tower. This all might be a little sketchy, but RF will do her best to explain everything with little to none plotholeage. If you're still skeptical, just try to humor us, mmkay? **

**Regal: And this is all from us. We hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	4. Triet Desert and the Fire Seal

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* * *

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Aaaaaaaaand…Fire Seal time! It's chapter three!

**Colette: But don't you/the OC hate fire?  
**

**Yup, so the seal might actually be brushed by. I'm a little worried about this chapter, but I got pretty much everything down, and it **_**is**_** fourteen pages minus the A/N's. Don't kill me too much, okay?? D:**

**Sheena: The introduction of the self-defense techniques will be in here as well, and RoyalFanatic added just a little more to it. It should explain itself, but if you're still confused, then let us know in a review. Everyone, including RoyalFanatic herself, the OC Anna, and the two guest authors, has that little more, and you'll see when we get there!**

**Colette: RoyalFanatic doesn't own us or Tales of Symphonia, nor does she own Anna, Spice, Gamecube, and the three other yet to be mentioned characters, but she does own the fiction, her personal ideas, herself, Calvin, and the OC she swapped lives with.**

**Then let's do this. Chapter three away!**

"Absolutely fascinating! A real live humanoid! I simply _must_ dissect and observe you!"

"Keep her away from meee!"

I should've realized this was going to happen…honestly I should've. But holy shit man, I was actually _watching_ Raine in full "Ruin Mode". With my own two eyes. And let me tell you, it's a hell lot funnier in real life than it is in the "game".

Lloyd and Colette were staring at their teacher, probably torn between questioning her sanity and falling on the ground in hysterical laughter; I'll admit that that was how I was feeling right now. Genis looked ready to shoot himself, and Kratos was looking very annoyed.

And I can't blame him too much; he already made a little schedule for the day in his head. But first Lloyd overslept, Gamecube and I had to be introduced, and now Raine was running around trying to dissect my best friend.

Still, being chased by Raine in full "Ruin Mode" is an honor very few people have; basically meaning Corrine and Noishe, if my memory is correct. I think I'll also have that chance as well…once Raine finds out that _I_ have wings and I'm not as tough as either Kratos or Yuan. Or Yggy. Forgot about the femboy for a minute.

So we're a few hours behind schedule; it's not that big of a deal!

…okay, maybe it is. But we know the chase is over when Gamecube hid behind Colette. "I have to learn how to use magic from her!?" Ummm…maybe Raine teaching her is a bad idea?

"Miss Sage…" Kratos' voice was almost a growl. Ooooooh, he's not too happy. "We have wasted enough time here, and Miss Silvermoon is a friend of my niece."

"Best friend," I added.

Raine paused, and cleared her throat. "O-of course. I apologize, Gamecube. I won't let it happen again. But please care to explain how she can use light magic?"

"T-the Desians forced me to drink something…" Gamecube muttered, her ears drooping. I told her to play the experimentation card; they'll _totally_ suck it up. Well, Kratos won't, but I already told him that the Aionis was found in her bag, so hopefully he'll play along as well. "I…I don't know what it was." Damn she sounds convincing. "N-next thing I know…I was able to use light mana!"

Hopefully everyone will forget this when they learn the so-called "Desians" are actually the Renegades.

"That's horrible!" Genis cried. Yup; he bought it. "How could the Desians treat people like that!?"

"That's why we have to stop them!" Lloyd shouted. "Right Colette!?"

"Right!"

"Well, it worked in our favor in the end," I insisted. All of a sudden, my satchel grew heavier… "Eh?" Everyone turned to look at me as I opened it; gald, apple and orange gels, damn you orange gels…_and an exsphere and Key Crest???_

Everyone jumped as I pulled the objects out of the small bag; they looked like an ordinary exsphere and Key Crest. Looks like whoever pulled Gamecube here…Origin, perhaps? Anyway, it looks like they forgot to give her the exsphere.

"Cecilia, where did you get that?" Kratos asked.

"I…have no clue," I replied, shaking my head. "I think it's for Gamecube, though; she doesn't have an exsphere, right?"

"M-me!?" The tigress squeaked. I wonder if she remembered about what exspheres really are and everything. I gave a small nod and offered the gem and crest to her. "H-how do I put it on?"

"Here, I'll show you," Lloyd said, walking over to Gamecube and helping her get the gem on her right hand.

"I guess we're ready to go now," Genis said. "Off to the Fire Seal!"

* * *

It's hot…it's hot…it's hot…it's really, really, _really_ hot…

I grab my water flask once again; I think I'm at the halfway point at this moment in time, and take another drink. Damn it's hot…why can't I be too cold instead!?

"You alright?" Genis, walking next to me, asked. We were actually in front of our little "train", despite the fact that the little kid's a spell caster. Gamecube and Colette were talking not too far off, but I wasn't paying any attention to what they were talking about. Actually, Gamecube was walking on her own, muttering to herself, but Colette walked over and started a conversation; I think about Noishe? Raine was walking a few paces behind them; observing her newest student, perhaps? I also told Gamecube that she should ask Raine to teach her about Sylvarant's history. She needs to be prepared for that test in Palmacosta, anyway.

And I think it would be wise for her to know; even if Mithos had warped most of the truth.

Lloyd and Kratos were near the rear of our "train", keeping an eye on our supplies and Noishe. It didn't matter too much, though; he'd take off once we neared the Fire Seal anyway.

"I'm slightly less delicate than the average person, and I have the mentality of 'Cold is better than hot'," I store the flask away; okay, no more water until we reach the seal! "Plus I'm naturally tuned to ice magic; a weakness to fire and hatred to heat is understandable."

"Touched with ice?" Genis asked; his eyes wide. "Wow…there aren't many people that have natural talents with the elements!"

"Dumb luck," I said, chuckling. I was _about_ to say maybe it was because I was born in Flanoir and moved back home to Asgard when I was a newborn, but then I remembered that Genis doesn't know about Tethe'alla the _world _yet. Yet. "I don't know too much about my mother's family, but I think they were a family that tied more with the earth element." They had to, if they eventually spawned Rodyle.

I wonder if he knows about me… Maybe Femboy told him one of his great grand-aunts left the family because they were bitches? And then eventually mated with an inferior being and produced one of the Five Seraphim?

"What do you mean?" Genis asked. "Was she separated from her family? Because she married a human?"

"No no! Nothing like that!" I cried, shaking my head. "I don't know if they even know that my mother married; she ran away from them when she was younger. Maybe because they were so earth elemental related, and she was more akin to ice."

"Or maybe it's your _father's _side of the family you get the ice from," Genis muttered. "You're just the only one who can use it properly."

Wait…what is he…?

Oh. Yeah. Kratos was a little cold at times, wasn't he? I see what the kid means. Insert loud laughter here. And confused looks from the others. And a Kratos glare in our direction. That too. "You may be onto something there, Genis."

"Hey Cecilia, do you think you could teach me how to use ice magic?" Genis asked. "I've been trying, but I think I might be more attuned to fire magic."

"That could hinder your studies a little," I replied. "But sure, I'd be honored to."

Genis jumped and hugged me. "Thanks Cecilia! I'm finally going to learn ice magic! This is so cool!"

I smiled; guess I'm not going to be so useless to the group at all!

Oh wait…I get to be friends with at least some of these guys, right? Well, Kratos is sorta a given. Regal might be too; I'll need to talk to the fortune teller after we release the seal. Genis will be learning under me…I think I could befriend him too; maybe my parentage will keep him and Raine optimistic. Even though Haze and Aura are long dead…their blood lives on and shows that there was a human who willingly loved a half elf. Once upon a time…

Zelos…no way; we're going to be rivals. Not only because I will never be able to stand him flirting with me, or anyone else for that matter, but also because he's a _Wilder_, and I'm an _Aurion_. He knows that the Aurions were the Champions of Sylvarant. He knows I'm still the Champion. And he's doing a good job with being an ass towards Kratos, but that's beside the point.

I look at the group; Colette and Gamecube have located themselves next to Noishe, giggling and petting the protozoan. I think he adores the attention…makes one want to squeal and hug something. Like a spaz. Raine hasn't moved, but she still occasionally sends glances at the Chosen and tigress. And…hmmm…were we lagging, or was it that neither of the male swordsmen trusted us to be first? Either way, Lloyd and Kratos had made their way to the front of the train; my uncle's eyes on the sands in front of us and the twin blade user's eyes on…_me_!?

Oh no way…he's looking at me with unhappy eyes. I…can't honestly read the emotion hiding behind them. Not anger…I hope there's no suspicion! I wonder why…

Wait. A. Minute…is Lloyd Irving…_jealous _of me!?

"Cecilia?" Genis' voice brings my mind back to reality. Lloyd's gaze doesn't fade as it turns back towards the blank scenery in front of us. Damn…it looks like Lloydie doesn't like me…will this mean I won't be able to fight with him when we reach Kvar?

Wait…stop! Genis is looking concerned. "Sorry! I was just…thinking about the journey. What is it?"

"Oh, well, Lloyd was looking at you funny," the mage replied. "Have you two met before or something? It's hard for him to actually hate someone."

"I don't think he really _hates_ me," I said, looking at the back of his head. "But that doesn't me he still likes me." Yeah, he has to be jealous of me…maybe it's because I'm also a sword and magic user, here to hog his spotlight? Maybe it's because I'm so close to Kratos? Or could it even be because he vaguely remembers his past or something? I know I _did_ spend some time with the kid when he was younger…

Hmmm…

* * *

Noishe took off as soon as we reached the general area; _ten_ freaking fire elementals showed up to take us on.

Not two, like it was in the "game", but _ten_.

And let me tell you, there were actually _harder_ to deal with than they were in the game! Plus it is actual _lives_ we're dealing with this time. No game overs…no restarts, or resets…

It's all or nothing, and while I enjoy gambling every now and then, I hate putting my life at stake.

Genis and I were in the back casting spell after spell; the half elf using water spells while I spammed Icicle over and over and over again. Raine was next to Genis, alternating between First Aid and Photon. Fire spells were flying everywhere, and any that hit me knocked me to the ground. Yes. You heard me right: Fire Ball spells _knocked_ me to the ground.

I'm telling you, once we get this seal out of the way, I'll be the happiest female former Seraph alive! …at least until we reach Magnius. Fricking fire half elf Desian Cardinal…

Colette and Gamecube were actually in the middle lines; Colette sending her rings flying while Gamecube was attacking with ranged light magic flying from Lunavalora. The way she was swinging the blade…I thought I was looking at a female Ike or something…

Between the five of us, we probably knocked out five of the things; the tigress and Chosen teaming up on one, Genis and Raine teaming up on another, and my ice mana spamming helped take care of the other three.

Meanwhile Lloyd and Kratos were tag teaming on a Fire Elemental and destroyed it. Beware the power of steel blades. The duo fought a second one as Colette and Gamecube tag teamed up against a third. Genis and Raine defeated the fourth together, and I kept my magic spam to defeat the final one.

So, my first official battle in the world of Symphonia, and I didn't get my ass handed back to me! I think _that's_ going to happen when we take on the Cardinals. And Femboy. Frick. Hopefully I'll be able to take care of myself and others once we reach Tethe'alla.

But we're all still burned to a certain degree. For reasons that escape me, Kratos was almost unharmed, while Raine, Genis, and I had a few burns at best as well. Gamecube and Colette looked a little worse off than we did, and poor Lloyd was almost cooked.

"This is going to be a nuisance…" Kratos muttered darkly. Ooooh, self defense time! I can learn to protect myself better!

…What? Even in the fanfic, _she_ doesn't learn Guardian until this point in time.

But you know what, three people already have Guardian, and it seems to be more of a human swordsfighter thing. I may be a swordswoman, but I'm quarter elf. Fine, fine…angelic quarter elf, if you want to be specific.

But I do have a neat idea for a tech; it's going to be something to do with my music. My iPod's still on my belt, yet no one has seemed to notice it. Not even Gamecube! Maybe it's because it's magically invisible when on my belt?

"What is?" Lloyd asked, actually sounding innocent.

"Uhhh, nothing." Nothing? Suuuuuuuuuuure…and your boss isn't a femboy. Hey, I can't say _our_; I'll pretend, but he ain't my boss anymore. "Anyway, it would be wise to learn techniques to better protect yourself."

"You mean self-defense training?" Colette asked.

"Something similar to that," Kratos replied. "Techniques that create a force field of mana that protects you. Pour enough power into the technique, and you can also eject an additional source of protection for yourself and those around you."

"What does that mean?" Lloyd asked, looking confused. I'll admit that I'm puzzled as well; no one ever mentioned this during the "game". Gamecube and Colette looked confused as well, but Genis and Raine seem to have an idea of what he was talking about.

"Perhaps a visual aid will help you understand," Kratos replied, looking ready to smack face with palm, or palm with face. I don't blame him; Lloyd can be a dunce sometimes. "Draw your blades." Looking confused, Lloyd did so. "Now, feel the protective mana flowing inside you; when I cast a lightning spell, activate the technique."

"How do I do that?" Lloyd asked.

"Merely think it; the name will come to you individually," Kratos replied. "Now be ready…Lightning!"

"Guardian!" Lloyd brought his swords up in a defense maneuver, and the green bubble came to life. Not only that, however, but four small carving knifes appeared in each cardinal direction. Gamecube, who was standing nearby the defending swordsman, jumped when a knife flew towards her, but it didn't harm her. Instead…

"Wow! I feel stronger than I did before!"

"Hey, I do too!" Lloyd cried. "There were carving knives…I wonder why?"

"Maybe because you learn craftsmanship from Dirk," Colette suggested. I agree with that; we're going to need that skill later on, Lloyd.

"So those additional sources are sort of a 'theme' based off our personality and skills?" I asked.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking as well," Raine agreed. "Let's have someone else try. Colette, would you like to go next?"

"Yes Professor," the Chosen replied, nodding. She took out her chakrams and nodded at Kratos. "I'm ready!"

"Lightning!"

"Damage Guard!" She raised her weapons up in defense as well; it was the same defense bubble as Lloyd, but instead of knives, angel feathers shot out in the four directions. One of them flew past Raine, and ended up doing nothing.

"I'm guessing Light damage?" Raine asked. "Something that hits opponents only? Well, Colette is the Chosen, so something angelic is to be expected."

"Neat!" Colette clapped her hands together. "I can protect myself and others too!"

"I'll go next," Genis said, pulling out his kendama and flexing his arms. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Lightning!"

"Force Field!" Weapon held in defense, and green bubble appeared again. This time, however, four different colored books, one red, one a dark blue, one purple, and one black shot out. Lloyd and I, who were in the line of fire, jumped, but nothing happened to us. "Books?"

"Maybe it's because you study!" Colette suggested. "And then the color of the books decides the elemental damage?"

"So in this case, it'd be fire, water, lightning, and dark," Raine said. "Fascinating…"

"You should go next, Professor!" Lloyd cried. "I'm sure you'll have something smartish too!"

"'Smartish' isn't a word, Lloyd," the professor said, pulling out her staff. "But I suppose I might as well give it a shot. Anytime you're ready, Kratos."

"Lightning!"

"Force Field!" Repeat what I said above, and there were also four stone tablets that jumped out in each direction. Tablets…? Representing Raine's Ruin Mode, perhaps? Ouch. They flew towards…

"Hey, they healed me!" Genis cried.

"Me too!" Colette added. "That's our professor! But why were they tablets?"

You'll find out shortly, everyone…you'll find out shortly. Raine turned red as I walked forward. "I guess I'll go next, uncle." Featherglow flew out of its sheath. "Anytime you're ready!"

"Lightning!"

"Sound Barrier!" Bring your weapon up in defense and oooooh, I like that! I really like that! Better than Guardian, anyway. The green bubble formed around me, and music notes actually shot out! Dude, this is totally awesome! I can't wait to use this again! The notes passed Genis and Kratos and…hey, my mana!

"Alright! My mana recharged!" Genis cried. "Good thing too; I'm low on orange gels!"

"Very impressive," Kratos said. "I had expected some sort of musical theme." Wait…he was…? Why? Oh wait…wait a minute! On his belt…camouflaging with the rest of his clothing…a harp! I guess even _she_ loved music as well.

She missed out on the good stuff, however. _Nothing_ can compare to Guitar Hero. And yes, I'm probably biased, but I don't care. "Music and mana make up my soul, uncle." Now, how about a little World Tour, my fantastic iPod? For some reason, Ozzy Osborne plays in my ears…oh well; I do like 'Mr. Crowley'.

Gamecube unsheathed Lunavalora. "I guess this means it's my turn! I'm ready!"

"Lightning!"

"Kounter!" The tigress held her blade in a defense position, and a stream of silver-green light spread from the bubble and misted out in the four directions. Lloyd got hit by the mist, and nothing happened. "Awwww, what does my protection do!?"

"Well, it felt like the mist was trying to heal me in some way," the swordsman admitted. "But my body was already healed anyway, so it couldn't do anything."

"Perhaps it heals statuses?" I suggested. "Poison, paralysis, curse, stone…stuff like that?" It'll be useful later on!

Gamecube looked joyous. "Excellent!"

Genis and I look towards the entrance of the seal and walk forward. Okay, it was time well spent, but honestly, the sooner we finish this damn seal, the better.

* * *

"Fantastic!"

Yep. _This _is why Raine has stone tablets. Once again in full "Ruin Mode", she ran up to the slab, looking at it as if it was some long lost lover or something. Scary… "Look at the slab covering the entrance! It's clearly of a different composition than the surrounding stone!" She knelt down, feeling the slab. "It's just as I thought! This is polycarbonate, designed during the Ancient War to defend against magic. Ooooh, feel the smooth surface; it's wonderous!"

I swear, _really_ bad mental images just popped into my head, and I've scarred myself. For life. Oh joy…

We turned to face Genis; thankfully everyone ignored me shaking my head in denial and misery. Kratos spoke first. "…is she always like this?"

Genis looked ready to run off, and I don't think the sweat on his forehead was from the sun. Thinking back on Raine's reaction towards Gamecube, Lloyd continued. "Is she?"

There was a sigh from the mage. "I've been trying to hard to hide it too…"

At this point, Raine had stood up and ran over to the pedestal nearby. "Hmm? This depression…it reads 'Oracle Stone'. Colette, place your hand here. That should reveal the entrance."

"Really?" Lloyd asked.

"This stone is enhanced to identify the Chosen," Raine replied. "There's no question about it."

So, Colette does as she is told, and the entrance opens! Huzzah! "Wow, it opened! I guess I'm the Chosen after all!"

As if the Cruxis Crystal and Remiel weren't enough proof for you… And Genis seems to be thinking along the same lines. "Yeah, we kinda knew that already."

"Alright, now it's getting exciting!" Lloyd cried as Genis, Colette, Gamecube, and I lead the way down into the evil seal. "Let's go; I can't wait to see what we find!"

"I hope you can keep that enthusiasm up…" Oh Kratos, _we're all_ hoping that. But knowing our luck, it won't.

And…woooooooooow…if I thought the desert was hot, then I have _no_ idea how the hell I'm going to last here. Not that I'm worried about collapsing or anything but really…how does the saying go? From the frying pan into the fire?

I really do hate fire and heat…

Okay, so the place is fricking _huge_! Not that it looks any different than it did in the game, but it's obviously going to take more time to reach the guardian and take it out.

Speaking of seal guardians…I wonder if it's going to be the game based, or if it's even going to be my fic based. Not that my version of the fire guardian is that different from the game, but still. I mean, sure we're following the "game", but there was no, well, me in the game, and since there is a "me" in this reality…bleeeeh it's confusing! Just wait and see!

Wait…does this mean we're going to have to go up against raging sirens when we reach the Water Seal? Shit…okay Martel…just remind me to have the men stand guard when we finally reach it…

Passing through the seal wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Well, we did run into monsters, including the evil that is the Fake, but for the most part, I hung back and spammed Icicle as fire, plates, trash, and various other items that monsters/Fakes spit out rammed into us. I swear; I'm going to learn Freeze Lancer before we fight Sheena.

Raine freaked out over the torches…run while you still can! She was flailing her arms, and she _swears_ it was an accident when she hit me, but I made a comment about "Ruin-crazed maniacs", and I'm sure she heard me.

Not that I want to breeze through the seal, but I wasn't paying too much attention to my surroundings; I just wanted to get out of here! Genis was hanging out with me; I think we'll be buds before anyone else knows it. Maybe there's another reason why Lloyd's upset/jealous with me; I'm stealing his best friend away from him. Damn…sorry Lloydie!

We did manage to reach the warp, and all…seven of us were just staring at it.

"Soooo…do we all go forward, or what?" Lloyd asked. He turned towards Colette. "What sort of things do you have to do at the seal?"

"Well…"

"She probably has to prove her worth," Gamecube suggested. "Don't the seals have guardians? Would she have to fight?"

"Most groups fight with four people maximum," Genis commented.

"Then should we send four people with Colette?" Lloyd asked. "And have the other two here? What would they do?"

"Stand guard, I suppose," Raine replied. "Make sure the way is clear, as well as make sure that no one follows us in."

"I'll stay behind," I insisted, shaking my head. Lloyd opened his mouth; maybe mentioning about my ice magic? Or maybe he's going to call me a chicken…I interrupted him before he could speak. "I doubt the Guardians have the weakness to ice that I have to fire."

"It would be best," Kratos added, and I nodded. What he said. He looked to the rest of us. "Miss Sage, it would be best if you went with the Chosen. I'm sure Lloyd and Gamecube would like to go as well."

"Of course!"

"Yeah, that's okay," Genis said. "I'll stay with Cecilia."

"Are you sure, Genis?" Lloyd asked.

The mage nodded. "There are other seals, right? Besides, I'm a little nervous about the monster."

"And you probably want to get started on learning how to handle ice mana?" I asked, remembering that he _had_ asked me to teach him. "Go on and take care of this; we'll be here when you get back."

So, general agreement was passed around, and Genis and I watched as Lloyd and Colette, Gamecube and Raine, and Kratos passed through the warp. They better tell us about the battle when it's over.

A few stray monsters ran towards us, seeing that we had dropped from seven to two in seconds, but multiple Aqua Edge spells and Featherglow were enough to take them down. I winced at a burn a Fire Warrior gave me though; I'll need Raine to heal it when she gets back.

"Okay, let me see you hold ice mana," I suggested to Genis. If anything, now _was_ a good time to introduce the kid to the spells. Well, I want to see how the mana will affect his body; he _is_ wearing shorts. "I want to see how your body reacts to it."

"Ready a spell?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. I want you to cup your hands and hold the mana."

Genis did so; I watched as a ball of ice blue mana appeared. He shivered, no doubt due to the sudden chill that I'm oh-so used to, but after a few seconds, the shaking stopped. Well, we _are_ in a hot climate, so the heat will probably counter the chill. At least, until he's used to it.

"Okay, good." I nodded as he let go of the mana. "I'll teach you the basics of handling the mana now; the heat here should help counter the chill from the runes."

"Yeah." Genis nodded as well. "You get used to it though, right?"

"Once you add the spells to your roster, your body will recognize and adapt. My body can recognize the fire mana, but it won't adapt; you don't have that weakness. It's a good thing; I'd rather those with half elven blood or more be balanced."

"So…you do know that Raine and I are half elves, don't you?"

"I can't sense mana as well as you and Raine can, but I can pick up that you have both elven and human blood in you." I replied. "But Genis, I have no problems with that; I was born because one of my parents was one. My father had no problem either; I don't remember them too well, but my parents truly loved each other."

"How about Kratos? Does he mind half elves?"

"Before my parents' deaths, he was very vocal about equal rights for all." I focused on my memories of the past…it's funny how similar Kratos was to Lloyd back then. "Not that he hates the world and all who live in it after they died, but did become quite colder, and less vocal." I frowned in thought. "First his parents before I was born, then my parents when I was…younger…" They didn't know I was over four thousand years old yet. "And then his own family fourteen years ago…"

"He had a family?"

"A wife and son…both were wonderful, and both will be missed. They were taken by Desians."

Genis' shoulders fell. "That's a lot of tragedy for someone…it's a good reason to be cold

all of the time, even if it _does_ make you somewhat of an ass."

"Indeed…" So much happened to him, and until Lloyd accepts him as his blood father, I'm all he has. Not to mention _I'm_ the last link to his past…it's a scary honor to hold, however. "Now, back to ice magic: I want to see you cast Icicle…"

* * *

The group came out unscathed about…half an hour later. Maybe longer; I still have no clock on me. But they came out unscathed; I guess Remiel somehow heals after battles after all. He's not as useless as I thought. We still have to kill him, though. Sorry Cal.

…wait a minute…a thought just struck me; Genis never had a chance to spaz over Colette's wings! Uhhhh…ummm…well, not that it was a major part of the storyline, but still…did someone else spaz over them instead?

We exited the seal with no trouble, and as we began to head back into the desert…bam. No ashes, but Colette fall down.

"Colette!" Lloyd ran over to her and knelt by her side; Raine did likewise. "Are you alright!?"

"I'm…fine…"

"But you don't look fine!" Gamecube shouted. "Oh no…it's not my fault, is it!? I shouldn't have made her pull her wings in and out so many times!"

So Gamecube did fit Genis' place. I wonder what it's like to spaz over wings; I've had mine for so long now…I decided to steal Lloyd's counter and spoke before he did. "Hmmm…I'm not sure if that's why she's ill."

"It doesn't matter; her lips are turning purple," Raine helped the Chosen to her feet; Lloyd hovered over them both. "We should get her to a doctor in the city."

And…go. "Wait." Cue an everyone stare at Kratos, who just so happened to decide to speak. "Remember the angel's words; she's required to pass a trial. It would probably be best to set up camp and wait it out."

"He's right…" Colette added, sighing. "It'll go away soon. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, you dork," Lloyd said. "It's not like you can help it; you're starting to turn into an angel!"

There was another sigh from the Chosen. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Personally, I blame the priests who trained her more than Colette herself.

So, remember what the "game" showed you? The generic campsite? Forget that; it's a _lie_ I tell you! Lies! It was nothing but ruins and sand, since we decided to stay closer to the seal. Everyone was gathered near the fire; the desert _does_ get colder when night comes. I didn't mind the cold though, so here I am off to the side. You know what happens; Lloyd goes around and talks to everyone, the broken birthday present, Colette goes for her walk, blah blah blah.

"Not staying with them?" I looked up to see Botta. He was speaking in a whisper; as long as we kept our voices down, my uncle shouldn't be able to hear us.

"I am." I lowered my own voice as well; again, I'm not about to tell Kratos I'm with the Renegades. Forget that. "I just needed to think. Any new orders for us? For me?"

Botta shook his head. "Other than joining the group, no. Yuan will let you slide on reports, as you know, but he'll want an overall summary of the Chosen's progress."

All the way to the Tower, in this case. Sorry Yuan. "I understand."

"Also, if we should meet on opposite sides, I want you and Gamecube to treat me as an enemy. And keep referring to us as Desians."

"Even though your men are all 'Hah, they think we're Desians'?" I asked. I almost laughed as my fellow Renegade rolled his eyes. "I know what you mean, though; not only because they don't know about the Renegades, but also because of my uncle." Botta nodded. "Plus you don't want us to lose our place in the group."

"And be careful," Botta added. "You're a good kid."

Kid! He called me a kid! Heeeey, I think he likes me! Neat! But wait…I'm probably older than he is! Hey! "Kid? I'm older than you, you know!"

"Who's counting?" The second asked, grinning. Now it was _my_ turn to roll my eyes. "And you appear younger than me, so there's that. No matter. Good luck, and do your best."

He disappeared into the night, and I was by myself again. So, we'll go back to Triet to restock, and I'll see what the fortune teller has to say to me as well. Then the Ossa Trail, Sheena, and most likely Izlood and Palmacosta…

_Okay then, journey. Let's see what happens next._

**Zelos: And…cut! End chapter! Again, if you're still confused about the self defense techniques, let us know, mmmkay?**

**Regal: Some more information is passed, and it appears RoyalFanatic is starting to set her friendship ties in. She has a given "soul mate" status with Kratos, and it seems she's going to work to befriend Genis and myself as well.**

**Zelos: While me and my cool hunny will be at odds. And Lloyd doesn't like her too! Go figure. My little tiger hunny, meanwhile, seems to have a "soul mate" situation going with Colette, and will befriend Sheena as well. She won't be too interested with my little Rosebud though.**

**Regal: There were plans to include the Ossa Trail in this chapter, but as you can see, they were nixed. Instead, the trail will be added to the next chapter, which should also still include Izlood and Palmacosta. The Water Seal and the Human Ranch (in that order) will be the chapter after that.**

**Zelos: Yeah, canon defying time begins. RoyalFanatic has some plans going on, and they require the group getting the Water Seal done first. Expect some overall confusion when you see her expecting things to follow "game canon" but the situation doesn't. Well, that's chapter five, so we got a little ways to go. XD**

**Regal: And that should be all from us. We hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	5. To Palmacosta! Then to Dorr!

**Okay, and here's chapter four! Ossa Trail, Izlood, and part uno of Palmacosta! A pretty long chapter here, folks. Most of it typed in the span of one day. Enjoy!**

**Colette: But we missed the deadline…**

**Eh, she knows my gift's going to be belated, anyway. This is part one of a gift for Nintendo4ever; the other part is a angsty drabble thing that's Mortal Kombat related and will appear on deviantART. Nothing for you other guys to worry about. Unless you watch my dA account, of course.**

**Sheena: It's because this chapter introduces me, isn't it? XD**

**;)**

**Colette: RoyalFanatic doesn't own us or Tales of Symphonia, nor does she own Anna, Spice, Gamecube, and the three other yet to be mentioned OCs, but she does own the fiction, her personal ideas, herself, Calvin, and the OC she swapped lives with.**

**Oh wait! An important extra I forgot to add! Fellow ToS writer Baby Kat Snophlake got the neat idea of all of us coming together and writing a collab fic. A very neat way to trade ideas, inspriation, and improve our writing skills out all in one! =D**

**Colette: Neat! I'd like to join!**

**Sheena: We can't Colette...**

**Anyway, if you're interested, check out Baby Kat Snophlake's profile for more information. Click on her "My Forums" link, and you'll find the collab forum; at this point, we're still having people jump in and trade ideas (I think we have four others including myself). So if you're interested, go check it out! The more the merrier!**

**_Now _less author notes and more long chapter. Without the A/N's, it's seventeen pages! Chapter four away!**

We traveled the desert, and ended up getting lost. Of course, not that it was either of the two adults' faults. It was the sandstorm that started up _after_ we started moving, and us "kids" leading the way. They couldn't be blamed, not at all.

Then again, Kratos _was_ in front of the train with Lloyd, and _he's_ the one with the map. And while Raine might've been the one in the back of the train, she hardly offered any advice about what to do. I must also mention that neither of the two adults ever actually _looked _at the map, even though the rest of us constantly screamed at someone to look at the damn thing.

Five hours went by, and we ended up making it to the coast. The _coast_. Completely wrong direction. Go figure. Then we were assaulted by monsters…go figure again. Poisonous snakes that can _really_ hurt you if you're not careful, the occasional fire elemental, and bandits that must be drunk or high…

I mean come on! Why would a group of four want to assault a group of _seven_? Especially since one of those seven…okay, so they don't know Kratos like the rest of us do, but I'm sure he gives off an aura or something.

So, after a half an hour of yelling and accusations, we finally set off again, hoping to actually reach Triet sometime this day, week, month, or year.

It was late evening when we finally reached the oasis city. The group traveled to the inn; exhausted, pissed off, and hungry. I couldn't blame them; it had been a long day, and I was sure even _Kratos_ was willing to eat something. Ignoring the others' weird glares, I made my way to the fortune teller's tent.

"Good evening." The seer had a musical voice. It made me think she wasn't _that_ much of a fake, at any rate. "I see much trial and error hidden along your path."

No doubt, if things go haywire at the fricking Tower. "I'm sure, but that's why not I'm here."

"Ah, you're here for a friendship fortune!" The seer insisted. "I see! Please, think of the name of someone you know."

I blinked. "…I have too many names to choose from."

"Ahhh, I see. Well, have no fear, for someone wants to be your friend!" Okay, this is it… "You two have yet to cross paths, but you will know when you do. He and your blood are very similar; he seeks to find a light of salvation. Be that light, and you will have a family tie that transcends even the closest of blood."

Yeah, definitely Regal. "I see. And I have a name." I thought about Lloyd; does he really hate me so much?

"I see…a faint hinting of the past." The seer actually had to pause and think before she spoke. "And a tiny shadow of familiarity. There is mostly jealously, however; you will have to work hard to fully earn his trust."

Damn, sucks to be me. "Could I think of one more name?"

"You may think as many as you would like," the seer insisted, smiling. "Think of the name of someone else."

The "game" only let you choose people depending on who Lloyd met, but I thought I could get away with it. In a way, I've already met Zelos, Sheena, and Presea, right? My first thoughts were of Zelos.

The seer frowned. "A dark, bitter rivalry…spanning generations…compromise will be granted, yet you will always be bitter friendly foes."

So, we'll be able to cooperate when we have to, but we'll hate each other's guts. Wonderful. And that _wasn't_ said in a sarcastic way, mind you. "I understand." I wonder what Sheena would think about me.

"All I suggest is that you watch your steps," the seer said. "She can be your friend or your rival."

Frick. Better be careful; I don't want to be on the other end of those Summon Spirits. And Presea?

"I sense indifference. Neither friend or foe. Break past the barrier, speak well, and be knowing, and you will be fine."

"Right. You have my thanks." I bowed and exited the tent.

It was dark and deserted; was everyone at the inn? Eh, I guess I might as well hang out on the rooftop or something.

I took two steps, was smacked in the head by something, and fell to the ground.

Yellow-goldish fur…?

Oh damn…

* * *

A hot afternoon greeted me as I came to; it appeared that I was in the desert. Although we were still in the region, the sands appeared to be thinning.

Yes. We. I just so happened to be the prisoner of the one and only Sheena Fujibayashi. My hands were tied behind my back, and I was being dragged on my side. Ouch…it stings!

So, was this going to change things? "I'd like to thank you for kidnapping me and dragging me halfway across Triet, yeah…" Sarcastic, much? Something tells me I'll be playing the kidnapped role for quite a bit. It does _not_ sound fun.

The assassin/ninja/summoner jumped. "Y-you're awake!?"

"I'm used to stuff like this," I insisted. We stopped, or rather, she stopped and I managed to drag myself to my feet. "So, just to let you know, I have a mercenary uncle who's going to kill you for this." An angel mercenary uncle, actually. Which makes it worse.

"If he cares so much about you, then he'll have no trouble bringing the Chosen of Mana to me," Sheena countered.

Oh shit…what _have_ I gotten myself into? "Now," the summoner was continuing. "Walk when I do, run when I do. If you stop or resist, your uncle and friends will be getting you back piece by piece!"

Oh shit! I'd rather stay in one piece please! Keep cool…keep calm… "I understand."

We continued traveling; the sands growing thinner and thinner as time went by. Since we were a group of two, one of the two being tied, more bandits jumped us; they were destroyed by Sheena's Guardian. And Corrine. Holy shit that little guy is a _menace!_ I really wish there was some way to keep him from dying!

"You _do_ know I'm with Yuan too, right?" I asked, just remembering the Renegade leader and my new boss. I know my captor's working for the King and Pope, but Yuan helped her over here and crap; surely he told her about me and Gamecube!

"Yeah, but you're with the Chosen," Sheena replied. "'Use whatever tools or methods you need to get the Chosen.' Those were his orders."

Damn him! What about me, you bastard!? Oh, you'll get your just desserts when we finally end up fighting you, Yuan!

At long last, the sands ended, and we found fields of green, the Ossa Trail, and deadly rabbits that _wanted _to eat us but were easily mauled by Corrine. We started for the trail when I could hear Noishe howling in the distance. "Miss Assassin? My friends are on the way."

"Damn! Corrine!" I don't know how she managed it so quickly, but she magically produced a rope, tied one end around my neck like a leash, and tossed the other end to the little Summon Spirit. "Get her out of here! Hide her!"

"Okay, now you're-whoaaa!" The little spirit can run! Sheena held out a red ribbon…hey! When did she get Aunt Anna's memento!? She dropped it on the ground and vanished in her usual smokescreen.

Corrine dragged me onto the beginning of the trail, opened the maintenance shaft, and actually _tossed_ me in! "Sorry, but you gotta hide!"

…Yuan's not the only one getting his just desserts, Sheena. Unless you can play your cards right; I still don't want to be on the receiving end of those Summon Spirits. Or those slaps. I'm sure they _hurt_.

At least Genis was right about the fall; it hurt like hell, but fire spells were worse. If I wasn't tied up, I would've been able to get onto my feet.

And I could hear deep breathing…oh yeah, the Skeleton Dancer. Or something like that. Hmmm, his quest wasn't that bad; would we be strong enough to fight it? "S…STRONG ONES…!!"

"If I meet up with my friends, then we'll fight," I replied, deciding to try and free myself from my bonds. Wait…I promised a fight? I guess we'll be fighting him after all. Note to self; don't forget about him in the forest.

If memory served me correctly, I had a knife hidden in my right boot. Struggling with my bonds, I managed to grab the hilt and pull it free. I cut my hands and wrists, but I was able to undo the bonds on my hands and neck. Guess I better see Raine about these cuts, and owww my neck hurts. Did the scar reopen? Oh shit it did…I feel blood.

"Aghhhh!" Someone was screaming above me. A female someone. Oh wait!

Sheena fell into the hole, with thanks to Colette's clumsiness? Guess the meeting went "normally" after all. And landed on top of me. Well, at least she wasn't dead. "You're welcome…"

"Y-you!" She jumped to her feet, red in the face. "Ah, thanks."

"So, Yuan's got you as Plan B, eh?" I asked, getting back to my feet. Again. "I'm seriously going to complain to him."

"So, you really are with Yuan. Heh, you might as well," Sheena admitted. "I didn't think he actually would've put insiders in the group."

"There are two of us," I said. "I got someone working with me. So, Miss Assassin, the name is Cecilia Aurion. My companion's a tigress humanoid with the Chosen; you can't miss her."

"Sheena Fujibayashi," Sheena said. "So, I'll call a truce with you and your friend."

"Truce accepted. Just no word of it to anyone else, and if we have to fight you, we'll go for you Guardians."

"It's a deal."

* * *

Sheena went to chase Colette and the team; I didn't feel like it. I wanted to check my magics and techs for when we fight Mr. Skeleton Dancer. As of now, Colette and her friends and teacher were thinking I could only use Demon Fang, Sonic Thrust, Light Spear, Lightning Blade, and the basic magics Aqua Edge, Wind Blade, Stone Blast, and Icicle. Although with all the spamming I did at the Fire Seal, I might be able to "unlock" Freeze Lancer. Okay, so once I do that, I'll take the front lines and "unlock" more techs.

We've sorta kept the Guard System we used in the Fire Seal as a way of battling; that way the two people in reserve can jump in and help out should it look like the rest of the group won't last. Genis and I have been reserves before I was kidnapped, but even while the other five are taking care of the monsters and bandits that assault the front, we had to fight a few bandits that tried to attack us from the rear. Then there was that one time where a second bandit group decided to help the first group.

What had happened to that second group? Well, let's just say Genis was very quick at picking up how to handle ice magic. Yeah, between the two of ice, I think those guys are going to be thankful that Hell is supposed to be a land of fire.

So, items, skills…everything's in order. I could actually see the skeleton's floating head, and a few of the bones that make up its body around it. And it was breathing, despite being, you know, dead. It's…interesting. And there's nothing else to do, so I decided that I should be stupid and sit _right next to the head_.

"S-STRONG ONES!!! F-FIGHT!" Man, he's a real converser, isn't he?

"They're coming, they're coming," I insisted. "They have to fight an assassin first. Then they'll run in here, find me, and then we can have our battle."

The thing made some sort of noise; I couldn't tell if it was a groan, gurgle, or just some sort of noise that doesn't even exist in our plane of existence, and kept…floating. Oh, did I mention that it was staring at me? Okay, I'm just a tad freaked out here…

So, I had no clue how long we stayed like that, but eventually the bones around the head started to rattle. "STRONG ONES…COME!!" Okay, now is my cue to jump up and get Featherglow ready. The thing started to form, and damn do those four swords look sharp! Looks like it's keeping my pact intact.

"Cece! Are you alright!?" Gamecube was the first to enter my vision, and she just _stopped and stared_ at the now…ten foot giant skeleton that just finished its transformation. It's…big.

One by one, Kratos, Colette, Raine, and Lloyd catch up to the tigress, and Lloyd and Colette mimiced Gamecube as Kratos unsheathed his blade. The gaping twin swordsman spoke first. "W-what the hell is that!?"

"STRONG ONES FIGHT!!" Well, I think he made his point clear. The skeleton aimed all four swords at me-oh shit!!!!

"Sound Barrier!" The bubble blocked the blades and sent music notes in the four cardinal directions. Okay, mana healed…let's start this fight properly… "It's certainly not a friend!"

There was the sound of wind; apparently Genis was battling a monster. Raine readied her staff. "Colette, go help Genis! Keep an eye on our backs!"

"Yes professor!" The Chosen unveiled her chakrams and ran to where Genis was fighting. Lloyd unsheathed his blades and ran forward; I charged forward as well.

"I think Genis and Colette should join us for this fight, Miss Sage," Kratos insisted, taking a firm place in the middle grounds and readying a spell. Gamecube held up a Magic Lens.

"It's strong! And weak to light!" The tigress deducted. Unveiling Lunavalora, which I believe is light based, she took a stance next to Kratos and began unleashing her aerial slashes. "A weakness!"

The thing isn't too pleased, and decided to take its anger out on me and Lloyd. Cue green defensive bubbles. And a ton of carving knives and music notes flying everywhere. Fortunately one of those knives hit me. "Sonic Thrust! Light Spear!"

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd sent out a ground based slash and ran up next to me. "Tiger Blade!"

"Lightning!"

"Photon!"

Cue magic spells now, which were followed by more aerial slashes. And the skeleton still wasn't pleased that we're doing damage. Or…maybe it was; I'm sure it's happy that it was able to find the strong ones it was looking for.

But that didn't meant it would go easy on us. And guess what? Those four swords were sharp. I got the backlash of two of them, wincing as they cut through my side, while Lloyd got hit by all four almost at once. Down for the count. Frick.

"I got him!" I shouted, ducking down as the four swords now made their way towards me. Oh shit oh shit oh shit! More lightning and aerial slashes crashed into the skeleton as Raine healed me. I was struck by one of the four swords as I grabbed a life bottle and forced it down Lloyd's throat.

"W-wha…whoa!" Was he surprised at the four swords that almost killed him again, or was he surprised that I was able to pick him up and jump out of the way of three of them? I did get hit…again, but at least Lloyd wasn't in danger of collapsing again.

"We're fighting a skeleton," I reminded him, grabbing an apple gel and forcing it down my own throat. Good thing I used one; both Raine and Kratos focused their attention on Lloyd. Well, he _did_ need it, so I'll let it slide. A third First Aid spell is sent, hitting me…Gamecube! That's right; the tigress is learning magic from Raine. "And it appears the fight's going to get a little tougher…" The thing improved its attack power, then its defense power.

Raine followed up. "Barrier!" Lloyd was protected as he rushed forward to resume his hacking and slashing. I jumped back and readied my own spells as the professor improved Lloyd's attack, then healed him. Mr. Skeleton Dancer almost knocked him out again. C'mon Lloyd; up that defense!

"Icicle!"

"Icicle!"

"Angel Feathers!"

Genis and Colette joined the fight now; okay, so we got numbers. All that's left was to keep Lloyd alive and while the rest of us pound him with magic. Gamecube joined Kratos in healing Lloyd as Raine swapped between attacking and keeping the twin swordsman's attack and defense high.

"Try this!" Hmm, looks like I wasn't the only one who spammed a technique/spell. Sure enough, Lloyd swung each of his glowing blades, using… "Double Demon Fang!"

Genis ran up to me as I unleashed a second Icicle spell. "You know about Unison Attacks?"

Unison! That's right! What familiar and unfamiliar combos would we be crazy enough to use and come up with? "I do. What are you thinking?"

"Icicle and Icicle," Genis replied. "I have a book. According to it, two Icicle spells should produce a larger, stronger Icicle spell called Frostburst."

"Let's do it," I insisted. "Lloyd! Raine! Unison go!"

"Here we go!" Lloyd's swords glowed as he unleashed a swipe, which hit the skeleton.

And time seemed to freeze, well, for everyone but Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and myself. The skeleton dancer was frozen in place; its body still in its slightly thrown back position caused by the simple swipe, and even Kratos, Colette, and Gamecube were frozen in place; I'm sure they lost their spells. Sorry guys.

"Double Demon Fang!"

"Photon!"

"Icicle!"

"Icicle!"

Genis' exsphere started glowing, and so did my Cruxis Crystal; it looked like Genis' book was true after all. "Let's do it!"

We raised our weapons and shouted at the same time: "Frostburst!"

It was an Icicle spell, but magnified; the icicles came up to my height. I'm sure it _hurt_.

And the spell was enough to "finish" it off. Well, we won round one…let's see what happens next.

"AUGH…I…I SEE! STRONG ONES…I RETURN!" And it vanished.

"What a battle!" Gamecube said; she looked drained. I think we were all drained mana-wise, at the very least. "Is everyone okay?"

"What was that thing?" Lloyd asked, staring at where the giant skeleton once stood.

"It was huge!" Colette added. "I bet it lived in a large house before it died!"

I tuned them, Genis, and Raine out; you know what they talk about. Elite from the Underworld. Instead I noticed the Yata Mirror that it left on the ground, and picked it up. "A parting gift." Perhaps a proof of our pact. Yeah; we'll be ready for round two as well. I turned toward Kratos, who's just…looking at me. "I don't willingly put myself in these positions."

"The assassin?" He asked, looking bemused.

"An unpleasant surprise." I walked over to my uncle and offered him the mirror. "To atone?"

He took it, thankfully, and secured it on his belt. "Just remember to keep your guard up."

I saluted. "Yes sir."

* * *

We reached Izlood sometime after midnight, and managed to oversleep til noon. Okay, so I didn't sleep; I actually asked Genis if I could borrow that Unison book while we were traveling to the port village, and was actually reading that.

It's interesting; there are all the combos the "game" give you, and then plenty of extras too. Apparently, Judgment and Purge offer a combo spell that's known as Judgment Bolt. I'm sure this one's only one of several combos that I have with my uncle.

And Freeze Pyre and Swallow Dance make a combo tech known as Chill Dance. Sweet! I can make a comb with Regal! Purge and Triple Rage Kick also made up a combo spell: Everlight Jazz. Geez, I'm on a roll here!

Aerial Fang and Demon Fang, Double Aerial Fang and Double Demon Fang, and/or Triple Aerial Fang and Demonic Chaos all produce the same combo tech: Shockwave. Looks like they are Gamcube personal links to Lloyd and Kratos. Neat.

So, once everyone woke up, we debated what to do next. We learned about Aifread, Lyla, and Max, got the letter to the pirate, and got Max to get us to Palmacosta, but then Max had to be sly and mention that there _was_ a land route we could use that would get us to Luin faster. Or so he said.

We opened the map and spotted the bridge. "So," Lloyd pointed it out. "We could go the long way around and hit Asgard, Hima, and Luin, or we take the boat to Palmacosta. What do we do?"

"I think we should take the land route," Raine immediately insisted. Her fear of water was most likely speaking for her. "It would most likely get us to Luin faster, and we will deliver Lyla's letter faster."

"If the professor says so," Lloyd muttered. "Although I did want to go on the boat…"

"Traveling to Palmacosta may be the faster route," Kratos countered, looking to the map. "And the safer; the monsters near the Asgard region are harsher than those in the Palmacosta."

"We'll be able to prepare ourselves for the harsher monsters living in the Asgard region," Genis muttered. "I'm sorry Raine, but I think I'm with Kratos."

"If we're lucky, we might be able to avoid any monsters on the sea," Gamecube said. "The other way, we'll have to worry about monsters all the time, right?"

"If we're lucky, Gamecube," Raine countered.

"And think of our supplies," Kratos cut in. "We don't have enough money to supply ourselves for such a harsh walk."

"But we won't have to worry about the peak," Raine said, pointing to the Hakonesia Peak. "None of us have road passes, or at least, up-to-date ones. We'll have to waste time and money getting seven passes."

"If it'll help us deliver Lyla's letter faster," Colette said. "I think we should take the land route."

"Such blind faith…" I think I was the only one who could hear Kratos muttering to himself. Well, maybe Gamecube did too. He then turned towards me. "So, we have three for the land, and three for the sea. Cecilia? The decision falls on you."

Why the hell do you guys put me in such Mary-Sue positions!? If I wasn't your niece, I'd totally hate you, Kratos. Okay, so we could skip Max and go to Asgard first. We'd be taking care of the Wind and Light Seals first, but then again, we'd be dealing with Kvar sooner than I would like… We be getting Sheena sooner, but there's still Kvar.

Then if we go Palmacosta, we'll run into Magnius, who could train us up for Kvar. Besides, in the "game", you don't worry about the letter until way later. We won't be meeting Sheena, but ten to one we will be meeting Anna and Spice. We'll also run into the Water Seal earlier, which means trekking when we reach the Unicorn, but…I don't know; I also feel that there's someone else waiting for us in that region. _Who could it be?_

Well, since we'll probably meet more people, I don't want to walk so much right now, and I certainly don't want to get my ass handed back to me by Kvar anytime soon, we're going to Palmacosta. Not that Magnius is any better, but let's get the fire people and things out of the way first. "I'd rather we not be caught in the middle of nowhere with no items, and I'd rather deal with the easier to handle monsters first. I think we should go to Palmacosta."

Lloyd and Raine probably thought I was saying that because of Kratos. Colette frowned, but nodded, she was the one with the most power in the group, but she wanted a fair vote. Plus I think she agreed with my reasons. Genis and Gamecube sighed in relief, and I think, for just a _brief _second, Kratos smiled at me. But then the smile was gone, and the stoic expression returned.

Lloyd looked towards Max. "Sorry, but majority votes Palmacosta. We're ready to go."

* * *

Raine hid away in the cabins; I think Gamecube and Colette went to go cheer her up. The boat _was_ small, but I clamped Lloyd's mouth shut before he could comment about it; he wasn't very happy with me after that. Genis looked ecstatic to be out on the sea, and personally, I could agree; this was my first time on a boat as well. Kratos seemed content with watching the waves; eh, whatever floats his boat.

Hah, I made a funny.

It didn't take as long as I thought it would; we didn't run into sea monsters, which massively helped, and got to Palmacosta at around three, two hours after we set out. Lloyd thanked Max as we ran for the shops, looking at the food, weapons, and armor. Hah, now we had money so everyone can equip themselves! And we'd have some extra left over! See how smart I am?

Colette led the way as we headed further into the heart of the city, and t-minus three…two…one…

Bam.

Colette and the female she ran into fell to the ground, and the Palma Potion in the latter's hands broke on both of them. "Ah! The Palma Potion we just received!" Two guesses on who said that. Here's a hint: it wasn't Colette.

"Oh no…" The Chosen got up, frowning. "I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry?" There were still three companions with her, a female and two male. The red-head male fumed. "You think saying sorry will fix this!?"

"I'll…I'll buy a replacement right away!" Colette insisted.

"Replacement!?" The red-head, Fake Lloyd, asked. Of course, I'm the only one who knows that this group is the imposters. "You think a replacement will appeal our anger!?"

No wait…cue gasp from Gamecube. She knows what's going on too. Lloyd rolled his eyes. "You sound _really_ ridiculous right now."

"_What did you say_!?" Fake Lloyd screamed. "Do you even _know_ who we are!?"

"Enough," the other female, the Fake Raine, said. "We shouldn't start any unnecessary trouble. Let's just have them replace the potion."

"Humph, fine," the Fake Lloyd muttered. "But we'll be waiting right here, got it!?"

"We got it," Genis muttered. "C'mon; let's go explore the city."

We made our way towards the main square; deciding it might be best to meet Chocolat and get the Palma Potion first, I stopped us at the item shop. Were sure enough…

"Oh please! There's no way any would sell gels to you at a price that low!" That girl really is defiant. To a fault. I think Kratos should learn from her. There were two Desians, wearing purple uniforms. Just as expected.

One of them snarled. "You should be lucky we're even willing to pay for anything in a rundown shack like this."

"Please! I'm not selling a single gel to the likes of you!" That girl _really really_ is defiant. Okay; she's my new hero. Heroine. Same difference.

"If you keep this up, who's to say what will happen to you or this city," the first Desian threatened, looking very pissed.

But Chocolat would not back down. "Just try it. As long as we have Governor-General Dorr, we'll never submit to the likes of you!" …I want her autograph.

"Why you-!"

"Stop," the second Desian finally spoke up. "We need Lord Magnius' permission to continue further." As his companion grumbled, he turned towards Chocolat. "Depending on Lord Magnius' mood, you may or may _not_ be able to keep that pretty little head of yours."

With that, they turned and left; I don't trust myself; I turned my head along with the others. Well, the others minus Kratos and Lloyd.

"Okay, I'm off to work mom!" Chocolat cried happily. Cacao nodded.

"Take care." She turned towards the rest of us as her daughter left the shop. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sure you were startled."

"That was _amazing_," Gamecube muttered, looking slightly star-struck.

"Well, we want to look around," Lloyd said.

"Of course. Welcome to the item shop Marble's."

And neither Lloyd nor Genis got the reference. Oh dear…maybe I should pull them off to the side and tell them. But then that would raise the question of how did I know…damn. Anyway, Lloyd bought the potion, along with a few extra gels and bottles, but with that little incident, I'm sure the group forgot _why_ we were supposed to buy it in the first place.

Sure enough, when we left, we continued on our merry way to the main square, where we see the Government Building, the Academy, and the Church, among other things. Hey, there's also a smallish hospital here too!

Our first destination, the Government building…hey, we haven't seen Dorr and Kilia with that little kid. What's going on?

"Hey, ummm…we'd like to see the leader?" Lloyd asked.

"My apologies, but the Governor-General is currently in a meeting with delegates from Asgard," One of the two guards replied. "I'm afraid you must wait until they leave."

Delegates from Asgard? _Waaay _interesting. "So, what now?"

Genis looked to the Academy. "We could check out the school."

We made our way towards the school; it was inside when Lloyd made his comment. "So Genis, you were supposed to come here, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I got recommended," the half elf replied, nodding.

"Recommended? _You?_" Cue snobbish kid…what was the name? Mighty Washington? What the hell man? Did "Namco" have some sort of grudge against us? Or was it the translators' faults? So, the kid with the freakishly big glasses walked up to us…hmmm…I'll admit I do miss my glasses every now and then…oh and there's another kid with him as well. "It took me six tries to pass that exam; like they'd accept someone like _you_!"

"Hey! Don't mock Genis like that!" Lloyd shouted. "He can say his multiplication table!"

Gamecube joined me in blinking as Genis turned red. "H-hey! What kind of example is that!?"

"They say birds of a feather stick together," Mighty's companion commented. "I bet this shrimp's on the same level as the other guys."

"Hey! I bet Genis is _way_ smarter than you!" Lloyd countered, seriously looking pissed.

"He's probably smarter than the both of you _combined_," I insisted; Gamecube echoes me.

"…interesting," Mighty muttered. "Well then; will you challenge me?" He does not look convinced. Stupid kid…you have _no_ idea what you're getting into.

"Go for it, Genis!" Lloyd insisted. "You'll do fine!"

"T-that's easy for you to say, Lloyd!" Genis cried, looking from him to the rest of us. From what I saw, everyone gave a nod of approval; we all know he'll kick that kid's ass! "…fine. I'll take the exam."

Mighty grinned. "You should know I'm the highest ranked student in this academy."

"Prepare to lose that title!" Gamecube shouted. The two ignore her and made their way up a nearby staircase; most likely to prepare for the test. "So ummm…what do we do?"

"I haven't studied recently…" Genis muttered.

"Well then, now will be an excellent time for _everyone_ to study!" Raine insisted, _almost_ looking like she was in Ruin Mode. "There are empty classrooms upstairs; we'll use that."

I…really don't like the way she stressed "everyone"…

So we did end in that empty classroom. "Now," Raine began, looking at the rest of us. "I think we should all use this time to study."

"We all have to take the test too!?" Lloyd cried.

"Yeah, ummm…I think I want to pass…" Holy shit I hadn't been studying at all! Well, I do have the "game" knowledge, and I have a little of _her_ memories from when _she_ was in school, but I don't thin that's going to help me too much…I don't want to embarrass myself!

"Yes," Raine said firmly. "If you're not feeling confident, just try your best." She then turned to work with Genis.

Gamecube nodded and took out a few history books I'm sure belong to Raine; last minute cramming, perhaps? I'm not good with that; I forget shit whether or not I study. I _think_ Kratos was staring at me for a bit, but when I look up, he's focusing on a book about Angelic. Colette grabbed one of the science text books and began looking through that. Lloyd was glancing in every other direction; I think he was too busy panicking to try and study.

And myself? Well, I had a book about mana opened, but I was secretly reading the Unison book Genis let me keep. Awww, how kind of him! I guess I really should study so I can do my best on this test as a payment of sorts, but again, if it's not in my long term memory, it's gone.

My memories are...very sporadic. I can remember dreams or things that happened years ago, while I could forget a comment I made five seconds ago. I was wondering if that changed being here, but…it seems it hasn't. I'm losing more of my old home memories though…and gaining more of my new life memories. It's amazing how I'm still able to remember things that happened four thousand years ago, yet still, I can forget what I said four seconds ago.

It remained like this for about ten minutes, when Raine ushered us to the testing room.

And so, here I am, ready to take a test I'm _really_ not prepared for. Then again, that's nothing new; I was like that in my old life too…okay, shut up. I'm still not sure if I want to even go back there if I have the chance. I mean…not that I hate it over there…well, no…I do. Somewhat. No matter where I am, I have a good chance of dying. There will be stuff over there that I'm going to miss should I decide to remain here forever and ever…

That's another thing. If I do go back, I'll just be little old human me. With a life span. And all that other crap. Here I'm a freaking _angel_…but would I really want eternal life?

Eh…I have my music; all I have to do is find a way to bring Guitar Hero over here once the two worlds are reunited. I'll do it somehow!

But back to the test…which began a few minutes ago! Oh shit, work Cecilia work!

…it's funny; this is the first time I actually referred to myself with that name. I mean, it is my name, but I still have that nagging feeling that it's _her_ name too…aghhh this is really complicated…

Back to the test dufus! I guess as long as I try to pass, I'll be fine, right!?

Right!?

* * *

"The tests have been graded," the Dean of the academy was the one to report the end results to us. Sweet. Somewhat. "The exam was out of a total of four hundred points. A fail is sixty-seven percent, or a total of two hundred seventy points, and under.

"And now for the results: in last place, Lloyd Irving with a twenty five."

Cue Lloyd head desk…now. Twenty five out of four hundred...damn, sucks to be him. And it's his best score too.

Feel very ashamed, Kratos; I _knew_ you should've looked harder! I would've, but I was sorta dead. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah.

"The rest go in order from lowest to highest: Colette Brunel with a two hundred ten."

Now, I was stupid enough to find out percentages and memorize them. This means Colette got a fifty two. Not too bad. Better than the six percent Lloyd got.

"Cecilia Aurion with a two hundred seventy five."

I don't fricking care. A sixty eight percent is still a "D". I didn't fail. Frick yeah! I didn't fail!

"Gamecube Silvermoon with a three hundred fifty."

That's an eighty seven percent. I remember Gamecube telling me about her straight A's, and how she's quick to picking up information. Considering that she only had a few days to straight study, she did a really good job!

It seems she was thinking otherwise though; I could hear her muttering. "Sad fate!"

"Kratos Aurion with a three hundred eighty."

That's ninety five percent for my uncle! Woo! Although wait…with his age and experience, wouldn't he have perfected it? Or did he purposely miss some questions so people wouldn't assume he's more than he seems?

But he's still a traveling mercenary…and pretty intellectual…I don't see why he couldn't get away with a perfect.

"Raine Sage with a four hundred."

"Nothing but perfection from our professor!" Lloyd insisted.

"And now for the scores of Genis and Mighty," the Dean continued. "Mighty Washington with a three hundred ninety-eight and Genis Sage with a four hundred."

Gamecube, Lloyd, Colette, and I raised our voices in cheer as Raine beamed at her younger brother. Kratos looked impressed as well, I'm happy to say.

Mighty insisted that Genis stayed and studied, but the half-elf refused; he wanted to stick with Lloyd. Very admirable of him…what does it remind me of, however? Someone else who wants to stick to someone close to her…

See what I mean? I forget things way too easily sometimes.

Oh, and I'm joking, by the way.

We made our way out of the academy: Raine was both congratulating Genis and reprimanding Lloyd while Colette was watching. Gamecube and I gave ourselves some distance from the group; I had the feeling our discussion of the test should be more private.

"I got a "B"! "_B_"! How could I have fallen so!?" Gamecube was muttering about her "sad fate".

"Hey, considering you didn't know _anything_ other than what I told you and only had a few days of last minute studying, I think you did a really good job!" I insisted, with a pat on the back. "You did a hell lot better than me!"

"Speaking of that…" Oh shit Kratos is walking right behind me, isn't he? Frick… "It seems someone has been neglecting their studies."

"I was working for Femboy, in case you forget, uncle," I counted. "Plus helping people in need on the side. I kept myself busy enough." And I died and came back with sharper memories of a planet in a different galaxy, even though they're fading now, but I'm not going to mention _that_. Ever. "At least I didn't fail, right!?"

"Just try to get back into studying," Kratos insisted. "Now, shall we see if the Governor-General is out of his meeting?"

"Might as well," I said, shrugging. Gamecube nodded.

_Let's just hope that things don't go as disastrous as I feel…know…they will…_

**Regal: And that ends the chapter.**

**Zelos: Oooh, she's going for long chapters! Neat! Go my ice hunny! And the skeleton fiend? Yeah, he's here. My ice hunny is planning on involving most of the side quests, whether or not it's in this, or any sequels. (Nods)**

**Regal: So, all should explain itself. She starts to conflict between her two selves, but RoyalFanatic will ultimately decide which of the two homes she will claim as her own.**

**Zelos: I'm sure you can guess where she decides to stay. ;) Anyways, this chapter and update are also dedicated to my tiger hunny; we hope you enjoy!**

**Regal: RoyalFanatic still has one last week of school left to worry about, which is why things have been quiet. We ask for jut a little more patience, and hope that this update will help things out.**

**Zelos: Yup. And that's all from us! If you're intrested in that collab, remember: Baby Kat Snowphlake's profile is where you want to go. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**


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